U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY- -Bulletin No. 48. 

O C* D. E. SALMON, D. V. M., Chief of Bureau. 



<S5 



THE 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



BY 



FRANK W. BICKNELL, 

S P eciaJ -Argent .-ii^cl Agrrieultural Explorer, 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

19 3. 




Class _SJL1£ 

Book— x M"S5 



70 



Bulletin No. 48. B. A. 



Frontispiece. 




U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY— Bulletin No. 48. 

D. E. SALMON, D. V. M., Chief of Bureau. 



THE 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



BY 



FRANK W. BICKNELL, 

Special .Argent and Agricultural E^x:pl< 




WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1903. 

try* v' 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

Bureau of Animal Industry, 
Washington, D. C, July 8, 1903. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of a 
paper entitled "The Animal Industry of Argentina," by Frank W. 
Bicknell, special agent and agricultural explorer. 

Mr. Bicknell shows the status of the animal industry of Argentina 
at this time, and dwells upon the prospects of that Republic as a mar- 
ket for purebred animals from the United States. Some excellent 
photographs of the cattle, sheep, and horses now being produced in 
that country accompany the paper. 

The subject-matter of this paper is such as will go far toward 
answering the many requests that come to the Department of Agri- 
culture for information regarding the animal industry of Argentina, 
and I recommend that it be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of 
Animal Industry series. 
Respectful^, 

D. E. Salmon, Chief of Burton. 

Hon. James Wilson, Secretary. 



ft of ft ^ 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Introduction y 

The Argentine Rural Society... g 

The great annual stock show \-j 

The annual sales of breeding stock II 

The herdbooks and flockbooks of Argentina 21 

AVhat Argentine breeders want 23 

Preference for Shorthorns. 24 

Demand for cows 25 

Other breeds 2(1 

Profits of importers 27 

High prices for ordinary animals 2<» 

Fat-stock and horse show ;;i I 

Kind of cattle for export and home consumption ;-;i 

Argentine steers are grass or alfalfa fed 32 

The manufacture of tasajo declining 33 

Meat supply of Buenos Aires 33 

Shortage of cows in Argentina 35 

Sales of horses in Argentina 36 

Sales of sheep in Argentina 37 

Animal sanitary regulations 37 

• Conditions and cost of admission of breeding stock 41 

The dairy industry 43 

Selection of cows for milking qualities 47 

Test of dairy cows [g 

Sacrifice of cows 50 

Statistics of production and capacity 50 

Cheese business not satisfactory 52 

Experiments in comparison of breeds 53 

How cows are fed 54 

Carrying capacity of pastures 55 

Advice of an Argentine packer 56 

Live-stock census 57 

Exportation of live stock 58 

Health of live stock , . . '. 59 

The sheep business (i 1 

The evolution of the sheep-breeding industry in Agentina (14 

Argentine resources shown by exports 68 

Principal exports for five years 70 

Exports in detail 70 

Distribution of exports : 71 

a 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page. 
Frontispiece. In Argentina. 

Plate I. Lord Wenlock, first-prize 3 J-y ear-old Shorthorn bull 8 

II. Ladas 6th, first-prize 2^-year-old Shorthorn bull 8 

III. Farrier Bridekirke, first-prize 2-year-old Shorthorn bull 16 

IV. Calomel 16, first-prize 3-year-old Shorthorn cow 16 

V. Grandison 42, prize champion Hereford, 3J years old 16 

VI. First-prize Clydesdale stallion _ 32 

VII. First-prize Shire stallion 32 

VIII. Docil, Percheron stallion, 3 J years old 32 

IX. D^Wet, first-prize Holstein bull, 22 months old 48 

X. Best cow of Flemish group, winning championship in dairy test 48 

XI. Grade Shorthorn bulls, 2 \ years old 56 

XII. Holstein cows and calves 56 

XIII. Fig. 1, first-prize yearling Lincoln sheep; fig. 2, first-prize Hamp- 

shire Down ram 64 

XIV. Second-prize Rambouillets, 18 months old 64 

XV. Hampshire Down rams, 3 months old 64 

4 



ARGENTINE TEEMS AND MEASURES USED. 

Money. — Unless otherwise stated, all expressions of value used herein refer to 
Argentine paper money, which will cost the foreigner to-day (May, 1903) 44 cents of 
United States money for the peso (dollar). The valuations in the custom-house, in 
which the amounts of imports and exports are stated, are in Argentine gold, worth 
96.5 United States money for the peso. 

Metric ton, used in the customs statistics. — 2,204.62 pounds. 

Kilo.— 2.2046 pounds. 

Liter. — 1.0567 quarts, or 0.264 gallon. 

Hectoliter. — 2.837 bushels, dry measure, or 26.417 gallons, liquid measure. 

Hectare of land. — 2.47 acres. 

Square of land. — 4.17 acres. 

League of land. — 6,672 acres. 

Meter. — 39.37 inches. 

Kilometer. — 0.621 mile. 

Estancia. — A stock farm, generally very large, where breeding steers and wethers 
for market, and sometimes also breeding purebred animals for sale as breeding ani- 
mals, are carried on. 

Estanciero. — The man who owns an estancia. 

Cabana. — An establishment where breeding animals are raised for sale. 

Cabanero. — The man who owns a cabana. 

Camp. — The term generally applied to the country, the rural part, derived, no 
doubt, from the Spanish word "campo," meaning the country. People in town say 
" I am going to the camp," instead of saying " I am going to the country." 

Lnside camp. — The better and more cultivated and favorably situated land and 
pastures; usually applied to the better portions of the province of Buenos Aires. 

Outside camp. — The more distant, less fertile, dryer and less valuable part of the 
grazing country. 

Mestizo. — Graded animals — partly pure-blooded, of any sort. 

Novillos. — Steers. 

Embarcadero. — The yards and sheds in the port of Buenos Aires where imported 
animals are received and where export animals are inspected and dispatched on board 
ship. 

Frigorifico. — Frozen-meat establishment. 

Lecheria. — Either a milk depot in the city for the sale of milk at retail or the 
establishment of a milk dealer in the country. 

Puchero. — The national dish, especially for the poorer classes. It consists gener- 
ally of beef, potatoes, and whatever other vegetables may be had. It is all boiled 
together in one dish and is served in the same manner, requiring few dishes. Some 
kind of squash is a favorite addition and sometimes chicken is added or substituted 
for beef. Occasionally a little pork is put in. If good meat is used and it is well 
cooked and not too much water used, it is very palatable and nourishing. The 
better families make it with chicken, well flavored, and the chicken and vegetables 
are served separately. 

Chacarero. — A farmer— a man who tills the land and raises a crop on a chacra, or 
farm. 

5 



THE ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



By Frank W. Bicknell, 
Special Agent and Agricultural Explorer. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The Argentine Republic is not to be studied hastil} 7 if reliable 
information is expected. Many mistaken ideas of the country have 
been promulgated by those who have spoken or written from imper- 
fect knowledge or from hasty surface observations. It is difficult to 
obtain complete or accurate information regarding any resource or 
industry. Neither Government officials nor the people engaged in any 
kind of business have collected and published complete and exact 
reports concerning what is being done or may be done in the county. 
One can never be sure to what extent statistics have been "estimated," 
and the operation of comparing and analyzing a part of these reports is 
likety to reveal flaws that raise doubts as to the reliability of the whole. 
So the independent investigator, desiring to prove all things — to take 
nothing for granted and to state nothing of which he is himself in 
doubt — must get as many facts, estimates, and opinions as possible, 
and then, adding his own observations and knowledge, be prepared to 
judge of the value of what he has heard and read and to form his own 
conclusions. This is the polic} 7 which was adopted by the writer in 
his investigations in Argentina during parts of the years 1902 and 
1903 — something over a year altogether. This brief account of some 
phases of the live-stock industry in the great, rich Republic of the 
south is conservative rather than enthusiastic, and the statements 
made herein have been carefuirv verified. 

The first object of this inquiiy was to determine whether or not the 
breeders of pure-blooded stock in the United States could sell animals 
in Argentina. That question may be answered positively in the 
affirmative, providing the conditions here set forth are studied and 
observed and only first-class animals are sent to the Argentine sales. 
If some good Shorthorn bulls and cows could arrive in Buenos Aires 
from about the 1st to the 20th of August, so they could pass the 
required forty da} T s in quarantine and be ready to be shown at the 
time of the great annual stock show and sales in the latter part of 

7 



8 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

September and the first of October, there is little doubt that the 
returns would be quite satisfactory to those who sent them". 

Because this country is a long distance from the United States anA 
'the people strange to us, we should not be frightened and hesitate to 
Teach out for a business that is so simple and that has earned such 
'handsome profits for others. There is nothing to fear in taking 
stock to Argentina to sell if the animals are right. The}^ should 
without fail be tested for tuberculosis before leaving home, for they 
will be subjected to the tuberculin test there at the end of the forty 
days' quarantine, and, if they react, showing that they haye the dis- 
ease, they will have to be slaughtered or removed from the country 
immediately. The English breeders who send animals to Argentina 
do not general^ do this. Our Government certificate showing free- 
dom from tuberculosis would therefore add to the value of the 
animals. 

There is no prejudice against any North American in Argentina 
that is worth taking into consideration in any business enterprise. 
An}^ man from the United States who has something to sell that 
pleases the people there will be well received, and he has as good a 
chance to sell it as any other man from any other country, providing 
that he knows the conditions as well as the other man and conforms to 
them. These things he must learn. To sell breeding stock he will 
have no trouble if the animals are the right sort, for g'ood breeding 
stock is keenly sought after, and the supply is inadequate. The Argen- 
tines would be very glad to see us enter more into competition with 
the English and others in respect of their trade, and we ma} T do so 
very profitably and safely if we study the conditions and observe them 
in what we do. The writer met with a very cordial reception among 
Argentines, and has to acknowledge many courtesies. He found 
them, as well as the English farmers and stock raisers, who are very 
strong there, always willing to give information. The} T show a lively 
interest in us and admiration for our development. 

THE ARGENTINE RURAL SOCIETY. 

The first Argentine Rural Societ} T (Sociedad Rural Argentino). the 
progenitor of the present organization bearing that name, had its 
origin in 1857. The prime mover in putting the idea into effect has 
told the writer the story of the inception and development of this, 
probably the most important, organization in Argentina. Like many 
other good things in Argentina, it had its inception in England. Don 
Eduardo Olivera, then a student in London, attending the lectures of 
John Nesbit on agricultural chemistry, noticed in a Buenos Aires 
newspaper an article by Domingo Faustino Sarniiento, afterwards 
President of the Republic and also the man who introduced the North 
American teachers to Argentina, commending a letter the young 



Bulletin "No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate I. 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate 




ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA, 9 

man had written to his father describing the agricultural show in 
Birmingham. The Argentines were advised to avail themselves of the 
benefits of like organizations, and this led to the organization the follow- 
ing }^ear of the first agricultural show in the country — a very small 
affair, under the presidency of Gervasio A. Posadas. During the show 
a meeting of estancieros a was held and a committee named to form a 
rural societ}^. This committee consisted of Senores Posadas, Sarmiento, 
Olivera, Favier, and Clark. But civil war came on, and the committee 
never met. It was not until July, 1866, that fourteen breeders met in 
Buenos Aires and organized the present Rural Society. The provi- 
sional committee was Jose Martinez de Hoz, Eduardo Olivera, and 
Ramon Viton. The rules and plan for the society, which had been 
prepared in 1858 b}^ Seiior Olivera, were the basis of the permanent 
organization, which was perfected a month later (August, 1866) with 
forty-seven members. The chief objects of the society, as then set 
forth, were the following: 

(1) To promote by all possible means the improvement of our stock in a rational 
way, based upon scientific experience. 

(2) To study the best means of irrigating our dry camps, as well as to drain 
swamps. 

(3) To promote the morality and well-being of our camp population. 

(4) To study the best breeds of cattle and sheep abroad, with the purpose of 
improving, by importation of breeding animals, the stock we now possess. 

(5) To search for and study scientific methods adapted to the conditions of our 
country and calculated to increase our agricultural output. 

(6) To secure commercial relations with foreign countries, in order to exchange 
produce and create a market for ours abroad. 

To assist in carrying out these purposes, it was deemed necessaiy to 
secure rational teaching of agriculture and to establish an agricultural 
museum to display national products, soils, etc., and also foreign prod- 
uce of a similar nature, to serve as models. Practical tests of the 
most improved machinery were provided for. The museum was 
founded under the presidency of SeiTor Olivera, and later has been 
reorganized as the Industrial Club, its scope greatly enlarged, and 
made a very important factor in the industrial development of the 
country, maintaining, as it does, a permanent exposition of national 
products in Buenos Aires. 

The first pretentious show of the Rural Society was held in Palermo, 
a suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1875. The officers and their friends — 
those personally engaged in the venture — had great difficulty in getting 
any animals to exhibit. Very few seemed to take much interest in the 
show. Only 18 cattle, 19 sheep, and 19 horses were exhibited. In 
fact, it was not until 1895, that the show assumed national and note- 
worthy importance. Its development since then has been rapid, 
steady, and sure, except as regards sheep, with which there have been 

a See page 5 for explanation of this and other terms. 



10 



JHTREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



fluctuations. The following comparison of the number of animals 
exhibited since 1805 shows the development of the exposition: 

Number of cattle, horses, and sheep, and value of sales at the expositions of the Rural Society , 

1895 to 1902. 



Year. 



Cattle. 


Horses. 


Sheep. 


253 


84 


531 


497 


91 


1,783 


654 


116 


2,080 


942 


245 


1,157 


1,487 


191 


2,204 


1,736 


271 


2,068 


1,881 


249 


1,800 


2,068 


314 


1,718 



Sales. 



1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 



$130, 000 
300,000 
335, 000 
660, 000 
880, 000 
975, 000 
916,000 
1, 291, 797 



Besides these, other sales are held every }^ear, at various other fairs 
in other parts of the country, usually in August, September, and Octo- 
ber. Last year an exposition similar to the one in Buenos Aires was 
held in Rosario, and, for the first effort, was remarkably successful. 
The sales were small, because at that time the crop outlook was very 
uncertain; pastures had suffered from frost and drought in the country 
tributary to that show, and estancieros were avoiding every possible 
expenditure. The rains came and the prospect brightened very much, 
however, before the Palermo show in Buenos Aires was held; so the 
sales there were good. 

Various fairs are held in the province of Buenos Aires, some of them 
under the auspices of societies and some by auctioneers for the sale of 
live stock — both breeding stock and stock cattle, fattened or to be fat- 
tened, and sheep. Then, there are the sales held in the auction houses 
in Buenos Aires, which are very important to breeders, for here are 
brought together representatives of the best herds and flocks in the 
country and also the best imported animals. This year all the 
imported animals, which are already arriving from England, will be 
sold in these great auction marts. 

The next show, to be held in September and October, 1903, will be 
a national show, where only those animals bred in the country will be 
admitted, either for exhibition or sale, unless owned by Argentines at 
the present time (May, 1903). All imported stock w411 therefore be 
sold in the auction marts in the city. -Next year (1904) the show will 
probably be international, foreign-bred animals being admitted. Both 
before and after the show, every 3 r ear, sales are in progress in these 
marts. Two of them are a block in depth, opening on two streets 
in the business center and have large, airy, clean stalls and auction 
rings, where the animals are well cared for and shown to the best 
advantage. Sales of rams are held here at the time of the September- 
October show, and again in January, and then, beginning in March, for 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 11 

several weeks. In January of this year 383 rams were sold in one sale. 
The September-October sales are always best, however. Near!}- all 
kinds of live stock are sold at auction in this country. 

Until the organization of the national department of agriculture, 
about four }^ears ago, the Rural Society exerted a tremendous influ- 
ence upon legislation and all regulations affecting the stock and agri- 
cultural interests, especially the former. It is composed mostly of 
wealthy and influential men, most of whom live at least a large part of 
the year in the city of Buenos Aires. They are owners of hundreds 
of thousands of acres of the best land in the Republic and are chiefly 
interested in stock raising. The influence of the Rural Society is still 
very great, and it is extending its usefulness by trying to interest and 
benefit the agricultural class, even the small colonist. The first agri- 
cultural show proper was held in May of this year, and it was the aim 
of the management to make it similar to our great agricultural fairs. 
For a number of years the society has held a show at this time for the 
exhibition of fat stock and horses only. 

The Rural Society affiliates to a certain extent with similar organi- 
zations in other provinces, and a delegate is appointed to represent 
the Rural Society in each of these. There are eight of these provin- 
cial societies, most of which publish monthly bulletins, and several 
local or district societies in the province of Buenos Aires that hold 
local fairs and sales. 

They are beginning to learn in Argentina what their big fertile 
country can do for them, and where and how to make the best of it. 
They lack agricultural literature and periodicals, such as we have, 
because the scientific study of agriculture is only just beginning, and 
because the farmers (called chacareros, as distinguished from estan- 
cieros, or stock raisers), the men who are raising crops, are mostly 
foreigners, msanj of them unable and unwilling to read. Of course, 
there are many proprietors (owners of land on a large scale) and a few 
small farmers who are eager for the best information to be had. For 
the benefit of these the Rural Societ}^ publishes a monthly review, or 
bulletin, of 60 to 100 pages, containing the best information obtainable 
regarding agricultural and stock-raising matters, with market condi- 
tions the world over, and such statistical information as may be had. 
The Rural Society in Rosario also publishes a monthly bulletin, and 
so do some of the other rural societies. The ministry of agriculture 
publishes, besides numerous special bulletins and reports, a semi- 
monthly bulletin covering the whole field of agriculture, stock raising, 
forestry, etc., which is quite exhaustive. The newspapers give con- 
siderable attention to live stock and agriculture. One English daily 
has a page on Sunday given wholly to these subjects. The English 
estancieros have done much for the country by adopting improved 
methods, and they are all students of agricultural and live-stock litera- 



12 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

ture. Periodicals and books, and especially the publications of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, are eagerly seized upon b} T 
the energetic, progressive English, and b} T man} 7 native Argentines of 
Latin blood who have learned English and desire to profit by our 
experience and stud} T . 

THE GREAT ANNUAL STOCK SHOW. 

All Argentine breeders, or at least 95 per cent of them, look for- 
ward to the annual show of breeding stock, given by the Argentine 
Rural Society in September and October in Buenos Aires, as the time 
when they will sell the animals they have raised for other breeders or 
for estancieros and secure new blood for their herds. The show is a 
great national stock exchange, where the breeders bring what they 
haAe to offer and come to see what others have done, and the estanci- 
eros, the producers of beef and mutton and wool and horses, come to 
buy u reproductores " to supply their large needs; so there are mrrers 
for all classes of animals. The cabanero, or breeder of pedigreed 
animals, looks only for the best, and is willing to pay fanc} T and prac- 
tically unlimited prices for animals that meet his ideas of perfection. 
The estanciero, or producer of beef, mutton, and wool, looks onl} T , 
as a rule, for animals of individual merit for his own use in the camp, 
and he does not care for pedigree. He is contented with a grade bull 
that he can bu} 7 at $200 to $1,000. The same is true of the sheep and 
horses shown in the exposition, as it will be noticed that man}^ well- 
bred mestizos, or graded animals, sold for good prices in cattle and 
sheep and poor prices in horses. 

The opening of the fair is a gala occasion. The President of the 
Republic always attends and the minister of agriculture delivers an 
address, as well as the president of the society. The speech of the 
latter, made at the opening of the exposition in September, 1902, 
contained some rather remarkable suggestions, as he is a firm friend of 
England, and has been much gratified b} T having been made an honor- 
ary member of the Ro} r al Agricultural Society of Great Britain. This 
gentleman, Dr. E. Ramos Mexia, was formerly minister of agricul- 
ture and a member of the Argentine Cono-ress, where he advocated 
the passage of a law requiring the modification of the tuberculin test 
of cattle for tuberculosis, in that animals not far advanced in the dis- 
ease should not be slaughtered on arrival in the country, but should be 
branded so the}^ could be known and kept apart from others. But 
this proposition Avas defeated and the disposition of animals found to 
be affected with tuberculosis under the tuberculin test was left, in the 
order putting the law into effect, to the determination of the execu- 
tive. This decree orders the destruction of the animals or their imme- 
diate shipment out of the country. Dr. Ramos Alexia has published 
a pamphlet on the subject in the English language, in which he gives 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 13 

his speeches in Congress sustaining his contentions. The work is 
dedicated to the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 

After the first week of the fair much of the best stock is removed. 
The attendance is not large at any time — only a few hundred men 
being present, except on a few afternoons, when the ladies come. The 
show has been and is yet, to a large extent, for rich men — those doing 
business on a large scale. The small farmers and stock raisers do not 
come to see it. It is in no sense a fair like our great State fairs. This 
year they are organizing for the first time an agricultural fair, to be 
combined with the fat-stock show this month (May, 1903), in which 
they hope to interest a greater number of small proprietors. The 
admission fee at the exposition is at first $2 and is gradually reduced 
to 50 cents during the second week. 

The visitor, fresh from the United States, with indefinite ideas 
about u the wild cattle on the pampas of the Argentine Republic" is 
astonished to land here, pass through this great, modern, healthy city 
of 876,000 people, past its beautiful, well-kept parks to the well- 
equipped and admirably arranged grounds of the Argentine Rural 
Society, and there find the greatest collection of purebred cattle and 
sheep that he ever saw. The grounds are beautiful, and the buildings 
and stalls for animals are very well arranged and spacious. The loca- 
tion is in a suburb of the city called Palermo, near the finest park in 
the city. 

The new feature of this year's show was the dairy exhibit, the first 
one the society has given. This was demanded by the lively interest 
in that industry now being manifested in the country, and this exhibit 
attracted more attention from the people than any other part of the 
show. A very large building was supplied with power, and all sorts 
of dairy machinery was shown in operation. The United States was 
not well represented in this exhibit, but our manufacturers might do 
well there. 

Very little interest is taken in hogs in Argentina, as their absence 
from the exposition shows. It is quite safe to predict that some 
day pork will be one of the chief sources of Argentine wealth, but 
at present the business of hog raising is out of favor, though the 
products of the hog, when properly prepared, bring high prices. The 
chief obstacle seems to be the lack of a reliable market at this time 
for a large production, and the high taxes and great amount of 
inspection that accompany the marketing of pork. Argentina once 
had a good market in Brazil, but that was lost by the degeneration of 
the pork owing to the feeding of pigs on decayed animals and other 
offal. When the system of feeding corn to animals is adopted, and 
large packing houses assure producers of a steady market, the hog 
business will come up in Argentina, for there appears to be no good 
reason why it should not. 



14 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

The work of the judges in this exposition is generally done before 
the show opens. This is always the practice in the fat-stock show in 
May. 

THE ANNUAL SALES OF BREEDING STOCK. 

The most significant feature of the stock show in September was the 
sale of the animals brought there for that purpose; for that, undoubt- 
edly, is the vital thing in the whole enterprise — that which gives it 
such an attraction for breeders and meat producers. Not an imported 
animal was sold in the show, and only a few just before. These few 
were an installment that had been brought from the United States 
about two 3 T ears before, and, having left New York the day after the 
Argentine ports were closed to the United States, were prohibited 
from entering the countr y until this time. They were chiefly of Scotch 
blood and most of them had been imported into the United States and 
Canada. The highest price got by any of them was $7,400 for a roan 
3i years old. Others sold for $4,900, $4,500, $3,500, $4,450, and so on. 
One bull, a Cruikshank 4£ years old, was from Danvers, 111. His age 
was against him, as it was with all this lot, and he had a bad knee. He 
has not been sold and is on an estancia owned by the importer. There 
is no profit in bringing bulls here over 30 months old, and 24 months 
or thereabouts is better. - 

In this show in September and October 1,402 cattle, 199 horses, and 
924 sheep were sold. The numbers of each exhibited were: Cattle, 
2,068; horses, 314, and sheep, 1,718. Six pigs and 31 representatives 
of the poultry yard were sold, the pigs averaging about $45 each and 
the poultry $11. 

The prices for breeding cattle were generally better than ever before, 
owing to the lack of saay imported stock and to the prosperous outlook 
for the stock interests and for the country generally. The prices 
obtained for ordinary camp bulls — not eligible to registration in the 
herdbook, from grade cows wholly without pedigree — were the most 
astonishing. These were shown in open pens in lots of from 4 to 10 
animals, generally about 8. Of the Shorthorns there were 74 lots, 
comprising 542 animals, that sold for $214,514, or an average of 
$395. 78. This is equivalent to about $174 United States money. Twelve 
of these animals sold for more than $1,000 each, the highest being 
$1,500. Many brought from $600 to $950, and the lowest price was 
$70, and this for only a few animals. The Shorthorn heifers of the 
same class did not sell so well, for they were inferior animals. Some- 
what over 300 of them were shown, of which 157 were sold at an aver- 
age of $216.65, the highest being $850 and the lowest $40. These 
heifers were not considered good animals, or thej^ would have brought 
good prices. The best heifers are rarely offered at public sale. Com- 
paratively few breeders have cows or heifers to sell, or at least they 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 15 

do not offer the best of these as they do with their bulls. They keep 
the heifers for their own use as a rule and sell only the least desirable 
animals. Breeders are keenly on the lookout for good cows and heif- 
ers, and if any are for sale some one in the neighborhood is likely to 
buy them privately, saving the owner the trouble and expense of tak- 
ing them to market to be sold at auction. These conditions explain 
the rather indifferent quality, the comparatively low prices, and small 
numbers of cows and heifers at the annual stock show. 

Taking the prize-winning animals as the}^ come, according to age, 
we may learn something of the preferences of Argentine breeders 
and the prices they are willing to pa}^ It should be remembered that 
these prices for native bulls were higher than ever before because 
of the fact stated above that there had been no importations of any 
consequence for eighteen months. 

SHORTHORN BULLS. 

Born March 1 to December 31, 1899: (1) Lord Wenlock, roan, bred 
by Pereyra, sold for $6,000; (2) Boer 137, roan, bred by Pereda, sold 
for $3,200; (3) Baron 019, red and white, bred by Gimenez Paz, sold 
for $7,200. Twenty-eight entries, 26 sold, average $2,688; highest 
$7,200, lowest $1,300. 

Born January 1 to June 30, 1900: (1) Ladas 6, roan, champion of 
the show and winner of special prizes, bred by Thomas Bell, sold for 
$10,300; (2) Surcouf, roan, bred by Fages, sold for $10,500; (3) 
Somerville 310, roan, bred by Vivot, sold for $7,000; honorable men- 
tion, Mercurio 152, roan, bred by Pereda, sold for $11,100. Nineteen 
entries, 18 sold, average $3,911; highest $11,100, lowest $750. 

Born between Julyl and December 31, 1900: (1) Farrier Bridekirk, 
red, bred by Pereyra, sold for $11,000; (2) Sultan 12, roan, bred b} r 
Villafane, sold for $1,000; (3) Ulpiano, red, bred by Fages, sold for 
$5,300; first honorable mention, Stanley 325, red and white, bred by 
Vivot, sold for $1,200; second honorable mention, Boulevard 062, red, 
bred by Gimenez Paz, sold for $6,000. Sixty-one entries, 51 sold, 
average $2,795; highest $11,000, lowest $665. 

Born between January 1 and June 30, 1901: (1) Newton Stone, roan, 
bred by Thomas Bell; (2) Alexandro Beauty 091, roan, bred by Gime- 
nez Paz; (3) Fernando, roan, bred by Aldao. Twenty-three entries, 
but none of the winners sold; 9 others in the class sold from $1,100 to 
$5,600, average $1,877. 

SHORTHORN COWS. 

Born before January 1, 1900: (1) Stella 155, red, bred by Jose 
Cobo; (2) Duchess Lily 22, red and white, bred b}^ Anchorena; (3) 
Celestina 103, roan, bred by Malbran, sold for $2,000. Seven entries, 
1 sale. 



16 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Born between January 1 and June 30, 1900: (1) Duchess Lily 26, 
roan, bred by Anchorena; only entry. 

Born between July 1, 1900, and March 1, 1901: (1) Calomel 16, 
roan, bred by Pereyra; (2) Dalia 89, roan, bred b}^ Pereyra; (3) Rose- 
mary, red and white, bred by Cardenas, sold for $2,000. Eight entries, 
4 sales at $2,000 each. 



HEREFORD BULLS. 



Born between March 1 and December 31, 1899: (1) Grandison 42, 
'chain pion of the breed in the show and also champion of the bulls of 
the beef races, bred by Villafane, not sold, and since died; (2) Caron- 
bier 54, bred by Pereda, sold for $2,150; (3) Kaki 63, bred by Pereda, 
sold for $1,100. Four entries, 2 sales. 

Born between January 1 and June 30, 1900: (1) Shamrock, bred by 
Pereyra; (2) Malmesbury 9, bred by Villafane, sold for $3,200; (3) 
Grandison 52, bred by Villafane, sold for $2,000. Four entries, 3 
;sales; lowest $800. 

Born between July 1 and December 31, 1900: (1) Wonderful, bred 
by Pereyra; (2) Grandison 15, bred b} T Villafane; (3) Grandison 55, 
bred by Villafane, sold for $2,500. Fourteen entries; 10 sales at $500 
to $2,500, average $925. 

Born between January 1 and June 30, 1901: (1) Grandison 63, (2) 
Grandison 65, and (3) Iron King, all bred by Villafane, and the 3 sold 
for $7,000. 

Only 1 Hereford cow, born between July 1, 1900, and March 1, 
1901, was shown for a prize: Zamora, shown by Pere}a*a, and given a 
second prize, and not sold. 



OTHER BREEDS. 



Only 4 Polled Angus bulls were shown for prizes. One was sold 
for $500 and another went with two 2-year-old cows for $1,300 for the 
lot. Only 3 Polled Angus cows were shown, the winner of the first 
prize going with the bull referred to and another cow for $1,300. 

A few Holstein bulls were offered, 1 being sold for $1,050 and 2 
others for $500 each. Only one prize was awarded, and that to the 
one that sold for $1,050. 

Not a Jersey was to be seen in the show, either for prize or sale. 
The Jersey herd in Carcarana, owned by people from the United States 
who have for years operated a cheese factory there and made it famous, 
is the only one of any size in the country. Jerseys are regarded as 
an expensive family luxury and only a few people think of having 
them, because they do not make beef. 



ANIMALS IN GROUPS. 



Two groups of Shorthorn bulls of 8 animals each, born in 1900. all 
registered, the only entries in their classes, sold at $1,000 to $2,100 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate IV. 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate V. 




ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 17 

each, one group averaging $1,375 and the other $1,519. 'LVo groups 
of Herefords of the same grade sold for averages of $700 and $625, 
respectively, they being the only entries. Two groups of 8 Hereford 
heifers, the only entries, sold at an average of $270 and $250, respec- 
tively. No Shorthorn heifers were shown in groups for prizes. 

GEADE ANIMALS. 

Under the head of mestizos, or grades, some very satisfactory sales 
are recorded, showing the readiness of the Argentine breeder to buy 
animals on their individual merits, without a recognized pedigree and 
ineligible to entry in the Argentine herdbook, especially if such ani- 
mals come from well-known breeders and have been sired b} T registered 
bulls. The Shorthorn bulls in this category were shown in groups of 
8, and there were 35 entries for prizes, the classification being "Grade 
Shorthorn bulls of two and four teeth." The gToup that won the first 
prize was not sold. The winners of the second prize sold for an average 
of $1,731, and the third prize group for an average of $1,035. Of the 
280 animals entered in this class 218 were sold, the average price being 
$725. The highest price was $2,600 and the lowest $80, the latter for 
2 lots only. All the others sold for $250 or more, generally around 
$600 to $800, while 58 of these young bulls sold for $1,000 or more. 
The heifers of the corresponding category sold for less than half, and 
the best of them were reserved from sale. Of the 120 shown, 56 were 
sold at an average price of $315. The first and second prize winners 
were not offered for sale, and the lot that won third prize sold for an 
average of $731 — 1 of them for $1,000. These bulls were better ani- 
mals than those referred to in the beginning of this chapter, tiie "camp 
bulls in pen," that sold for an average of $395.78. The latter were 
rougher animals, raised in the camp, never having had any special care, 
and most of them were not so well bred as the ones just referred to, 
which were entered for prizes. But man} r successful breeders are 
going in for bulls that have not been pampered, but have grown up 
under the conditions which they must meet on the average estancia 
that is not breeding show animals, but is aiming to produce the most 
beef of the best quality at the least cost. It is often said in Argentina 
that the ambition to produce show animals has resulted in lowering 
the vitality of the sires. "What we want," breeders often say, "is a 
good supply of young, hardy bulls that have been raised to camp con- 
ditions, so they can go out with the herd, take things as they come, 
and keep in good condition while doing their work and without watch- 
ing and special care." 

Only 5 Hereford grade bulls were shown under the class provided 
for them, and they sold for $150 each. Eight Polled Angus heifers 
sold for $80 each and 8 Red Lincolns for $130 each. 

3369— No. 48—03 2 



18 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



ANIMALS FOR SALE ONLY. 



Many animals are brought to the exposition for sale only, not being 
entered for any prize. Under this head 169 purebred Shorthorn bulls 
were shown, and 127 of them were sold at the average price of $1,270. 
The highest price was $6,900 and the lowest $250. Four sold for more 
than $4,000. These were all from one breeder and were sired b} T the 
noted bull Spartan. Three sold for less than $1,000 and more than 
$3,000 and 16 sold for prices between $2,000 and $3,000. Nearly all 
these bulls were born between June and December, 1900. 

Seven purebred Herefords of the same class sold for prices ranging 
from $550 to $2,000, or an average of $1,191; 3 Polled Angus averaged 
$423; 3 Holsteins averaged $550; 5 Flemish averaged $1,010; 20 Polled 
Angus camp-bred grade bulls sold for an average of $210, and 1 lot of 
heifers for $15 each. But the Polled Angus is gaining, and many 
well-informed men in Argentina think it will be the second breed in 
the country — next to the Shorthorn — though now it is very much 
below the Hereford in numbers. 

Among Argentine breeders there are many wealthy men who will 
cheerfully pay enormous prices for animals that please their fancy, 
and they frequently do it. Sometimes this results in stimulating prices 
to an unnatural extent, but it is certain that superior animals will 
always find admirers and bring prices that average far above those 
obtained in the United States. It is true that majry good bulls are 
sold privately in the country at lower prices- — from $100 to $200 — and 
that there are plenty of native breeders who have not yet learned that 
it pays to bu} T a good bull. There are plenty of rough, miserable 
cattle in the countiy, but improvement is going on rapidly, as men 
see that it does not pay to raise poor cattle when on the same amount 
of land the}^ might be producing good animals and realizing much 
larger profits. The great increase in the price of land is also leading 
estancieros to make the most of it, and the} T can no longer afford to g*o 
on in the old loose wa} T , being satisfied with prices of cattle ranging 
from $20 to $35. The} r must double or treble these figures, and they 
are doing it; but they must continue to import new blood to keep their 
herds up or they will surely degenerate. 



SHEEP. 



As noted elsewhere, the significant feature of the sheep sales was the 
decline in the prices obtained for Lincolns, as compared with the sales 
of 1901, and the gain in prices and number sold of Rambouillets and 
the Downs. The Merino type is surely in better demand, more gen- 
eral, and not confined to a few breeders. The highest price for a 
Rambouillet ram in the 1901 show was $7,300, while in this show the 
highest price was only $2,000. About 70 per cent more animals were 
sold in 1902, however, and the average was higher. The Hampshire 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 19 

Downs held their average well up because they were not numerous 
and there was a good demand for all. Two lambs 3 months old sold 
for $175 each, which is said to be the record price for Hampshire ram 
lambs of this age. The sales of Hampshire Downs, Oxford Downs, 
and Shropshires during the year following this show did not develop 
big prices, as it appears that the breeders supplied their wants mostly 
during the show. 

HORSES. 

The horse sales were not particularly noteworthy, nor, for the most 
part, were the horses shown. The horse business at present is not at 
its best, though good horses may be produced here very cheapl}' . The 
heavy horses were criticised, because they were too heavy and did not 
show life enough. Some of the light roadsters, the Hackneys, and the 
saddle horses were very attractive and found many admirers. These, 
it will be noted, brought the best prices. The highest price in the sale 
was for a beautiful dapple-gray Percheron, 1- years old, named Docil. 
He was one of live entries in his class in which three prizes were 
offered, but he was not considered by the judges to be worthy of a 
prize. The winner of the first prize was not sold, but the second- 
prize animal brought $150, while Docil commanded the top price in 
the whole show. Many other good heavy colts sold for very low prices, 
which was rather discouraging to the breeders of this class of horses, 
for some of them were of excellent type and individual qualities. The 
sales of heav}^ draft mares was better than in the Ma}^ show, as they 
were more uniform and sold for more nearly uniform prices, though 
rather low as compared with the prices such mares would command 
elsewhere. But as these were camp-bred animals, the prices were not 
so low as they seem to the outsider. 

The official report of sales made in the exposition is given herewith 
as it was prepared by the Rural Societ}^. As published, it contained 
many errors, but some of these have been corrected. It is still 
incomplete and inaccurate in some respects, however, and, like some 
other Argentine official statistics, must be taken in a general way — as 
an approximation and not as an exact statement. For instance, it will 
be noticed that the average price of heavy "pen" mares is given at 
$97.97, while the lowest price is said to be $100, when it was really 
$32. The highest price paid for a heavy stallion is said to have been 
$2,100, when one was sold for $2,600. But, in a general way, it gives 
an idea of the sales in a condensed form. The cattle sales, as given 
in detail in the foregoing account, were worked out by the author of 
this report independent of this record. 

In this statement of sales, "stall" and "pen" are translations of 
Argentine classifications " galpon " and " corral," which are used to 
distinguish animals raised under shelter and with great care from 



20 



BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



those raised more or less in the open camp. There is another classi- 
fication midway between these two, namely, " Criado sistema mixto," 
meaning, kept part of the time under shelter and part of the time in 
the open. "Criado acampo"is the expression generally used for 
an animal that has been raised in the camp altogether. 



Condensed statement of sales of lice stock In the September- October exposition, Buenos Aires, 

1902. 

CATTLE. 



Breed. 




Number 
exhib- 
ited. 


Number 
sold. 


Amount of 
sales. 


Highest 
price. 


Lowest 
price. 


Average 
price. 


Shorthorns: 

Stall 


JMale .... 
[ Female.. 

(Male .... 
(Female.. 


301 
19 
1, 030" 

469 


233 

6 

790 

238 


$162,016 

12, 000 

402, 605 

55, 930 


$11,000 
2, 000 
2, 600 
1,000 


$400 

2, 000 

70 

40 


91, 982. 90 

2, 000. 00 

509. 62 

235.00 


Total 


1,819 


1,267 


932, 551 








JMale .... 
{Female.. 
JMale .... 






Herefords: 

Stall 


33 

7 

41 

16 


25 


35, 349 


3, 200 


500 


1.415.96 


Pen 


28 
16 


14, 870 

4,160 


1,100 

270 


170 
250 


513. 70 




[Female. . 


260. 00 


Total 


97 


69 


54,379 








JMale .... 
[Female.. 
JMale .... 






Polled Angus: 

pen 


8 

7 

62 

29 


5 

5 
20 
16 


2, 250 
1,000 
6, 425 
1,000 


550 

200 

430 

80 


300 

200 

100 

45 


450.00 
200, 00 
321. 25 




(Female.. 


62.50 


Total 


106 


46 


10, 675 








[Male .... 






Holsteins: 

Stall and pen 


6 
5 


4 


2, 600 


1,050 


200 


433. 33 




(Female.. 










Total 


11 


4 


2, 600 








JMale .... 






Flemish: 

Stall and pen 


5 

10 


5 


5, 050 


1, 250 


900 


1, 010. 00 




[Female.. 

[.Male .... 










Total 


15 


5 


5.050 








Dutch: 

Stall and pen 


3 
5 


3 


1,400 


560 


400 


466.66 




[Female. . 










Total 


8 


3 


1,400 










JMale .... 




Red Lincoln: 


3 
8 




' i 


Stall and pen 


8 


1.040 


130 j 


130 






[Female.. 


130.00 


Total 


11 








Male .... 






Red Polled: 
Pen 


1 










Total 


2,068 


1,402 


1,007,695 | 

1 


1 


1 





ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



21 



Condensed statement of sales of live stock in the September-October exposition, Buenos Aires, 

1892— Continued. 

HORSES. 



Breed. 


Number 
exhib- 
ited. 


Number 
• sold. 


Amount of 
sales. 


Highest 
price. 


Lowest 
price. 


Average 
price. 


Saddle: 

Stall 


JMale .... 
[Female.. 

JMale .... 

[Female.. 

Female.. 

JMale .... 

[Female.. 

Female.. 


9 
1 

57 

1 

52 

109 

7 

78 


2 


$2, U50 


$1,800 


1250 


$1,025.00 


Light draft: 

Stall 

Pen 

Heavy draft: 

Stall 


28 

1 

16 

83 


23, 620 

350 
2, 080 

54, 390 


2, 050 
350 
130 

2,400 


270 
350 

130 

110 


843. 57 
350. 00 
130. 00 

655. 30 


Pen 


G9 


6, 759 


155 


100 


97. 97 


Total 


314 


199 


89, 249 








1 





SHEEP. 



[Male 
Rambouillet 1 

[Female.. 

(Male 
Lincoln •! 

[Female.. 

[Male 
Shropshire i 

[Female.. 

fMale 
Oxfordshire 1 

[Female.. 

[Male . . ... 
Hampshire i 

[Female.. 

Total 

/ 

Pigs Male. . 

Poultry 

Dogs 

Grand total for the show 



304 
121 

832 

123 

105 

35 

60 

5 

59 

74 



1,718 



213 

51 
375 
84 
89 
5 
31 



76, 923 
3, 220 

84, 371 

4, 150 

8,220 

350 

0,844 



31 
45 



7,900 
2, 250 



924 



194, 228 



2,000 
150 

1,600 

210 

500 

70 

600 



600 
59 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



50 
40 
35 

30 
40 
70 
50 



100 

50 



361. 13 
63. 13 

224. 98 
49.40 
£2. 35 
70.00 

220. 77 



354. 83 
50.00 



136 
12 



4,256 



6 
31 



2, 562 



280 
315 



1,291,797 



50 
50 



30 



46. 66; 



THE HERDBOOKS AND FLOCKBOOKS OF ARGENTINA. 

The Rural Society controls all the herdbooks and flockbooks in 
the country. The Shorthorn herdbook was started about thirty 
years ago by several breeders and remained a private concern until a 
little more than two years ago, when it was purchased by the Rural 
Society. The Hereford herdbook was purchased by this society 
several years ago, as was also that of the Red Lincolns. The Polled 
Angus record was started b} T the society six or seven years ago. 
There are no rival herdbooks, and the registration in the society's 
books is recognized everywhere in the country. 

There is a commission of three members for each breed. Each 
member holds office for two years and is eligible for reelection. This 
commission passes upon all applications for registration, and though 
an appeal may be taken to the general board of the society, this has 



22 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

never been done bat once, when the commission was sustained. The 
commission has power to send inspectors to the "cabana" (breeding- 
establishment) to verify the claim made in the application for regis- 
tration, but this also has never been done. 

Until now any animal that was entitled to registration in the 
Coates's herdbook of England was admitted to registration in the 
"Herdbook Argentina.' 1 After a long and spirited discussion the 
directors of the society decided that hereafter no imported Shorthorn 
can be registered in the Herdbook Argentina unless the first dam and 
sire of the same inscribed in the pedigree were recorded prior to the 
year 1850. The argument used to bring about this restriction, which 
shuts out many bulls that have been going to Argentina from England, 
was that so long as the Argentine breeders were not permitted to 
register grade Shorthorns after many years of crossing and improving, 
English breeders should not be permitted to register animals of five 
crosses. 

Many breeders are in favor of establishing a second herdbook — a 
preparatory record — in which should be inscribed graded animals 
after a certain number of crosses, these animals to be eligible to entry 
in the regular herdbook after a certain number of additional crosses. 
But these were outvoted when the recent regulation was made. 

The beef producer, he who is thinking onbr of producing good steers, 
is not particular about the pedigrees of his bulls. He looks to the 
individual merits of the bulls he is buying first, then seeks to know 
what breeder the} T came from, and, lastly, perhaps, to ascertain what 
sort of ancestors they had. He wants the bull in order to raise steers 
and has no use for the pedigree. 

There are probably not more than lift}' breeders in Argentina who 
are familiar with pedigrees and families and take these into prime con- 
sideration in buying bulls. Until very recently the Argentines were 
thinking wholl} T of beef. They prefer deep reds and dark roans 
because, they say. the lighter colors fade out and look very bad in 
their country. 

The certificate of the recognized herdbook in any country will be 
recognized in Argentina by the Rural Society, provided the animals 
presented for registration comply with the conditions stated. The 
American Shorthorn Herd Book has been recognized there before, and 
so has the Hereford Register. Between the years 1879 and 1887 many 
Herefords were brought to Argentina from the United States. The 
certificates of pedigree must be indorsed by the Argentine consul in 
the port from which the animals are shipped. Animals must be regis- 
tered within one year after their birth or importation in the country. 
The fee for the registration of cattle is $5 for each animal born in the 
country and $10 for each imported animal for members of the Rural 
Society and twice these amounts for those not members. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 23 

The flockbooks are held in small repute by the sheep breeders; not 
that they are not perfectly regular and of a high standard, but the 
breeders as a rule do not think it worth while to register their animals, 
particularly ewes. Only about half a dozen breeders register regu- 
larly. Rams must come prepared to register, in case the certificates 
should be called for, but frequently buyers do not ask for them, par- 
ticularly if they know the reputation of the place they came from. 
If from the United States, the certificates would undoubtedly be 
demanded. The flockbooks are based on the English requirements, 
and the fee for registration is $1 for individuals and 50 cents per head 
where the registration is collective, and double -these amounts for 
imported animals. Nonmembers pay double fees. The registration 
in the flockbooks is increasing, but it will very likely be slow. 

The herdbooks and flockbooks are in charge of a competent Eng- 
lishman, Mr. H. Bruce Percy, who acts as secretary to all the commis- 
sions, and is in personal charge of the office in the Rural Society's 
building in Buenos Aires. 

An arbitration board for the settlement of disputes among the 
members without going into court is one of the benefits open to the 
members of the Argentine Rural Societ}\ Disputes between mem- 
bers, or between a member and an outsider, may be submitted to this 
tribunal, which is composed of some of the best men in the county. 
But both must agree to submit to the decision of the board, and if a 
member violates the decision he is expelled and posted in disgrace. 
This board was started about ten years ago and afterwards abandoned, 
as very few took much interest in it. About two years ago it was 
revived, but still it is but little patronized. An effort was then made 
to make it compulsory for both parties to a dispute, if members of the 
society, to submit their contention to arbitration, which is free of cost, 
if either paiiy desired it; but this failed. 

WHAT ARGENTINE BREEDERS WANT. 

An annual exhibition of breeding stock by the Argentine Rural 
Society will be held during- the latter part of September and the first 
half of October, 1901. At that time the Rural Societ}^ show will 
probably be an international one, and imported animals may be shown 
on the grounds; this is not permitted when the show is only national, 
as it is this year, and imported animals can not be shown for prizes or 
admitted to the show grounds. Shipments should be made from New 
York not later than Jul}" 1 to 15. 

The English ports were opened to Argentine live stock on February 
3, 1903, after having been closed nearly three years. A slight out- 
break of foot-and-mouth disease on three estancias caused the Argen- 
tine Government to close its ports to export animals on May 9, 1903, 
pending the eradication of this malady, but this maj 7 not last more than 



24 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

a few months. The Argentine Government now (June, 1903) claims 
that the disease no longer exists in the country and is at present seek- 
ing read mission to British markets for live animals. The three months 
during which the export trade went on stimulated prices and taught 
the producers of fat cattle and sheep that they can only hope to com- 
pete with the United States b} r producing the best animals and prepar- 
ing them in the best possible manner. 

The danger of war with Chile appears to be past and capital is being 
more freely invested in the countiy. Agricultural and stock-breeding 
operations are being and will be carried on with more certainty eveiy 
} T ear, as the conditions are being studied and fewer mistakes are being 
made; hence greater profits and more money to invest in improve- 
ments of all kinds. Last year was a bad time, as much uncertainty 
prevailed. The markets were limited to the local demands and three 
freezing plants and one chilled-meat concern, with what could be 
worked up in the way of live-animal trade in South Africa, Spain, 
Portugal, and Brazil, all of which was not much. Of course, there 
were the saladeros (salting establishments), the makers of tasajo (jerked 
beef), but these showed a heavy falling off during 1902. But now the 
country exhibits every indication of a boom. The price of countiy 
property has advanced 30 per cent within the year, and there is little 
dissent from the opinion that these values will be maintained. Alfalfa 
is taking the place of the unproductive wheat fields, and cattle are 
wanted to eat the alfalfa, though much of it is exported. Two 
additional chilled-meat establishments are in process of building and 
others are in prospect, while some of those already in existence are 
being enlarged. New areas are being opened up at the southwest, 
new railwa} T lines are in projection both north and south, and all this 
means a demand for better and more cattle. The same is true of 
sheep. A change is taking place, as so well told by Mr. Herbert 
Gibson in a contribution to this report. A demand is felt which the 
United States can supply — that is, for good mutton sheep. 

PREFERENCE FOR SHORTHORNS. 

A glance at the report of sales at the last show, given in detail 
elsewhere, indicates the overwhelming preponderance of Shorthorns 
in Argentina. Of all the cattle there exhibited (2,067). 1,824 were 
Shorthorns, and of the total amount of cattle sales ($1,007,695), the 
Shorthorns brought $932,581. This is a fair indication of the pref- 
erence of estancieros in the countiy. The influence of this great major- 
ity of Shorthorn breeders is so great that it is difficult to introduce any 
other breed, and other breeds do not have the same fair chance that 
they would if they had more supporters. There are, to be sure, many 
breeders and advocates of the Hereford as an animal of superior hardi- 
ness, good health, feeding qualities under adverse conditions, and a 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 25 

sure breeder. It is generally admitted that the Hereford is better for 
poor camps than the Shorthorn, and that he is much better able to 
endure hardship. In most of the tests for fat steers the Hereford has 
shown a greater percentage of net beef, winning the championship in 
the May show of the Rural Society for four consecutive years. The 
objection made to him is that he does not produce a marketable fat 
steer as soon as the Shorthorn. It is claimed that in the good camps, 
on alfalfa or the best native grasses, the Shorthorn is read} r for market 
six months sooner and, age for age, produces a heavier, finer-grained 
animal. So that it is better at this time to take Shorthorns to that 
market than any other sort of animal. 

Argentine breeders have not gone in for any special strain of Short- 
horns, except that now the tremendous impetus given to the dairy indus- 
try makes the milk strains popular, as, for instance, those of the Bates 
family. At present the Cruikshank Shorthorns predominate largely. 
While breeders there will look very carefully to see that the pedigree 
is all right, they bu}^ on their individual judgment of the merits of ani- 
mals offered rather than on the certificates of pedigree that go with 
them. The Shorthorn bulls must be short in the legs, deep and long- 
in the body, with a good head, full, wide chest, well-laid shoulders, 
strong loins, and well-sprung ribs, covered with deep, mellow flesh, 
full hind quarters; and his color will please best if it is a deep red or 
roan, preferably the former. Special stress is laid on the head there. 
Bulls should be from 2 to 3 years of age, but not less than 18 months old. 

DEMAND FOR COWS. 

Some first-class Shorthorn cows, especially those known to be good 
milkers, and heifers of good milking and beef antecedents, will be sure 
to bring long prices, for they are very much wanted. It was notice- 
able at the Rural Society's show that the very limited number of cows 
shown were of inferior qualhVy compared with the bulls. To be sure, 
breeders do not like to take fine cows to the show, because the} 7 must 
be fattened more than is good for them, and the inducement is not 
sufficient, as they do not desire to sell them. A good bull may always 
be had with a fourth of the effort required to find an equally good 
cow. Notice that while 233 high-grade bulls were sold, only 6 cows 
were sold in that class. The 238 Shorthorn cows sold were of the 
corral, or rougher, class, and yet they sold for an average of $235, or 
$103 United States money. The young bulls of the same class brought 
an average of $510, or $221 gold, and it must be remembered that a 
great number of these were not purebred, and so had no pedigree. 
They were bought wholly on their individual merits, and many of 
them brought from $1,500 to $2,000. If the cows had been of equal 
quality they would have brought much more than they did. 

These mestizo cows were, in fact, rather inferior, and were the 



26 



BUKEAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



second or third choice of the herds from which the}^ came. Often 
they were merely the pick of general camp stock, and most of them 
had no pedigree whatever. 

The uniformity of the exhibits of some of the better breeders was 
an indication that they w T ere paying more attention to the selection of 
dams, recognizing the f oily of wasting expensive bulls on poor cows. 
A very good authority on the selling qualities of breeding stock in 
Argentina sa} r s: 

There is a good demand for superior cows, providing they be of conditions to enter 
the Argentine Herdbook. During the year 1902 all pedigree cows, even inferior 
and old ones, were sold at very good prices. It is safe to say that there is a buyer 
for every Shorthorn cow, not necessarily a choice specimen, but of good type and 
antecedents. Cow t s to bring top prices here must be strong in the hind quarters; 
they must have unmistakable beef qualities. 

As indicated elsewhere in the reference to the dairy industry, there 
is a demand for some thoroughly good sires of the daily breeds, except 
Jerseys, and a few notably good cows. The Holsteins seem destined 
to play an important part in the future of the Argentine cattle-breed- 
ing industry, and so are the Flemish cattle, neither of which can now 
be imported into this country from Europe. The strength of the 
Holsteins in the United States ought to give the breeders of that race 
a good chance in Argentina. 

OTHER BREEDS. 

Herefords will not bring high prices there, compared with Short- 
horns, though an animal that would command favorable attention, a 
really great sire, would probably fetch $5,000, equal to $2,200 United 
States money, or possibly a little more. A criticism that is often made 
of the Argentine herds other than Shorthorns is the lack of really 
great individual sires. There are breeders of Herefords, Holsteins, 
and Aberdeen- Angus who will recognize and buy, regardless of price, 
bulls of the highest merit, but will not look at an ordinary animal. 
As the importer of these breeds must look to the best breeders for his 
customers, he must be able to satisfy them. 

The following shows a comparison of the prices obtained for Short- 
horns and Herefords for three years past in the Kural Societ} T, s sales 
in October: 





Prices 


of purebred 


and grade Shorthorns and . 


Herefords, 


1900-1902. 




Year. 


Pedigree Pedigree 
Shorthorns. Herefords. 


Grade 

Shorthorns. 


Grade 
Herefords. 


1900 


|1, 789 
2,277 
2,891 


$895 
1,937 
1,344 


$447 
486 
524 


S362 


1901 


475 


1902: . . 


297 







It is hardly fair to the Herefords to make such a comparison with- 
out making allowance for several influences on the prices obtained. In 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 27 

1901 the Herefords were of a better class than in 1902, though the 

number of bidders was greater in the latter year. So few animals 

were presented that one or two high prices paid for individuals in 1901 

affected the average. Mr. Eduardo Bullrich, a man well informed on 

live-stock matters, gives the following opinion concerning Herefords, 

being the result of years of close observation among breeders and 

estancieros: 

The Hereford is a breed which, for its adaptability to range conditions, hardy con- 
stitution, courage, and perseverance, combined with ideal grazing properties, will 
make its way in our country as well as any other beef breed, though perhaps slowly. 

The Polled Angus is making headway and, though but little known, 
is giving results that are attracting attention. In a circular letter to 
estancieros advising them what to breed for the new chilled-beef estab- 
lishment at La Plata, the manager, Mr. Daniel Kingsland, puts Polled 
Angus second only to Shorthorns. The breed is well adapted to the 
fine pasturage of the valuable inside camps, as well as to the rougher 
regions where its vigorous constitution enables it to thrive under con- 
ditions that would interfere with success with Shorthorns. Some 
magnificent steers have appeared in the export markets from the 
Polled Angus growers. It would not be wise, however, to bring to 
this market as an experiment more than one Polled Angus bull. 

Some first-class Polled Durham or Red Polled bulls ought to find 
ready buyers, for they have admirers; and there is a tendency among 
some breeders to dehorn and to strive to produce hornless cattle. The 
advantages in shipping and handling are sufficient to pay for consider- 
able effort and expense. Dehorning is not much practiced, however, 
especially upon grown animals. There is a strong prejudice against it 
on humanitarian grounds. Some breeders and shippers claim that it 
is an advantage to have the horns in handling cattle on shipboard. 

PROFITS OF IMPORTERS. 

About three years ago an English importer bought a fine young 
dark-roan Shorthorn bull at the Belfast fair in Ireland for £105 
($510.98) and brought it with others to Buenos Aires, where the 
animals were sold at auction. This young bull, Farrier, attracted the 
fancy of Senor Leonardo Pereyra, one of the most successful and one 
of the richest breeders in the country. His estancia, San Juan, is 
the show place of the country, only an hour's ride from Buenos Aires. 
Here he has 5 leagues, or nearly 31,000 acres, and in various other 
parts of the country he owns a total of 80 leagues and many thousand 
cattle. The San Juan place is the old home place, where his father 
began the improvement of his stock more than fifty years ago, and is 
used only for breeding stock. Thirty to forty men are employed to 
care for the beautiful park which he maintains there. Senor Pereyra 
breeds Shorthorn and Hereford cattle, Lincoln and Merino sheep, and 



28 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

various breeds of horses — always winning many prizes at the shows 
and getting- the top prices for the animals he sells. 

All this by way of preface to the sale of the handsome roan Short- 
horn bull that pleased Senor Pereyra. He pleased others also, so 
that the price went up to $15,700, or $6,751 United States money, 
before the other bidders were willing to quit and let Senor Pereyra 
have the bull. He has always been well pleased with his bargain, for 
Farrier has given him about 230 line calves, among them a prize 
winner this season, a red bull that was second only to one other in the 
show in the contest for the championship of Shorthorns. This bull 
sold for $11,000, or more than the champion. In the show were 8 or 
10 others of Farrier's sons, of which 4 were sold— for $900, $3,200, 
and 2 for $4,200, respectively — the total sales of Senor Pereyra from 
this bull alone being $23,500 in the auction sales in this one show. 
Others of Farrier's get were reserved from sale.. 

The tremendous profit realized by the importer of this bull is not a 
matter of surprise, though a little larger than is often earned. Many 
bulls are bought in England for £40 and sold in the Argentine spring 
sales for from $3,000 to $7,000 paper, or from six to fourteen times 
what they cost in England. Often breeders in Argentina order bulls 
sent out from England or Scotland on commission; that is, buj^ers in 
England, familiar with the country and the wants of the Argentine 
breeders, especiall} 7 their clients, attend the English sales and buy on 
the order of the Argentine breeders, receiving a good commission for 
their services. This general^ results in the English breeder getting 
better prices for his animals, for the agent of the Argentine breeder 
knows his client expects to pay a handsome price, and when he finds an 
animal that he thinks will suit he bids till he gets it. When two or 
three of these bu} r ers come together, it is a fine thing for the English 
breeder. Those who buy on speculation on their own account for sale at 
auction in Argentina look about for good animals, which can be bought 
cheap and sold on their individual merits; and they are very successful in 
the business. Only a short time ago the bull Ro} T al Duke was bought on 
order from the herd of the King of England for an Argentine breeder, 
Senor Manuel Jose Cobo, for £800, and the bull, being old and in poor 
health, died on shipboard, insured for £1,200. 

When the Argentine ports were closed to importations from Eng- 
land, a clever English importer went to the United States and bought 
a lot of bulls, mostly those that had been brought previously from 
England or Scotland, and started for Buenos Aires with them. Some 
of his rivals heard of it, and the ports were closed to animals from 
the States on the representation that he was bringing animals from Eng- 
land to the United States to be reshipped to Buenos Aires. This decree 
was issued the da} r before his animals left New York, but no advice was 
sent to New York, and he sailed in ignorance of it. The result was 



ANIMAL INDUSTKY OF ARGENTINA. 29 

that the animals lay in Montevideo for eighteen months or more, until 
they could be admitted here. A bull named Brave Archer was bought 
in Chicago for $240 United States money. He had been brought from 
Scotland about a year before, and though he was a 4-year-old, he sold 
in Buenos Aires last year for $6,800. 

Some recent importations of light-roan Shorthorns from Scotland 
sold at $1,400 to $2,500, it being the wrong time to offer them, and 
part of them were withdrawn for later sale. They were not extraor- 
dinary animals— some of them being very ordinary — and the prices 
realized gave the importers a snug profit. 

In 1887 some Virginia breeders sent a large consignment of Short- 
horns here, and they realized very handsome prices for them, the leading 
bull bringing $12,000. They enjoyed a good business, but the revolu- 
tion in 1890 brought it to an end. 

HIGH PRICES FOR ORDINARY ANIMALS. 

The following recital of the disposition of a certain shipment of 
cattle is full of suggestion: The shipment consisted of 1 bull, born 
March 7, 1900, 14 heifers and cows from 2 to 2i years old, one of them 
a cow with a young calf, and one 8-months-old calf. Two of the heifers 
were ineligible for registry in the Argentine herdbook; one of these 
sold for $600 and the other was withdrawn. The heifer calf 8 months 
old was sold for $500. The bull was a rather good animal, a deep red, 
a little rough in shape and faulty in the head, and a trifle faulty in the 
hind quarters, but in excellent condition, strong, and well developed, 
and he sold for $3,500. The general comment among those present 
was that he was a very good bull for breeding steers, but not good 
enough for a sire of breeding animals. The heifers, with one or two 
exceptions, were very inferior. They were mostly roans, with two or 
three reds. They had suffered from long voyages and the unfavorable 
conditions at Las Palmas, where they spent eight months after having 
once been rejected at Buenos Aires because they arrived with foot- 
and-mouth disease. They were very "leggy," a fault quickly to be 
noticed in Argentina, and most of them were bad in other respects, 
particularly in the hind quarters. The} 7 were all bred to good bulls, 
and, being young and of good breeding, familiar to the bidders, and 
brought by a well-known importer, they brought astonishingly good 
prices. The lowest price was $1,000, the highest $2,000, and the aver- 
age for 12 was $1,490. The} 7 were offered at a very bad season when 
very few care to buy. If the} 7 had been offered at the time of the Sep- 
tember show, they would undoubtedly have brought considerably more. 

If these animals, which in this country would have been slow sale 
at $150 to $200 United States money, and might have gone for less, 
could be sold at an unfavorable time for such good prices, what would 
be realized for tiptop cows, such as could be sent from the United 



30 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

States? There is no doubt about there being a good business in tak- 
ing such excellent animals there. The country is simply hungry for 
good breeding animals, especially Shorthorns, and cows will be par- 
ticularly acceptable, because they are badly needed. 

FAT-STOCK AND HORSE SHOW. 

For several years the Rural Societ} T has given a show in May for 
horses, fat cattle, and sheep. It is primarily a horse fair, as the sales 
are chiefly of horses. It is a combination of market and competition 
for prizes, and many animals are brought to the show to be sold, not 
being entered for prizes. This show was to be combined with the new 
agricultural fair this year (see p. 13). 

Interest centers in the competition among the Shorthorns for the 
championship, although for four years prior to 1902 the champion fat 
steers were Herefords. This is the more remarkable because of the 
comparatively small number of Herefords bred in the country. In 
the 1902 show there were twenty lots of 8 steers each competing in 
the Shorthorn class and only two lots of 8 each in the Hereford, Polled 
Angus, and Holstein classes. For the Hereford to win under these 
circumstances, with the great preponderance of opinion against him 
among the breeders, and hence among the judges, has been a source of 
much satisfaction to the champions of the breed. In the last show the 
championship was won by the Shorthorns, but the block test that was 
made after the award, after the animals were sold and slaughtered by 
one of the chilled-beef companies, was against the Shorthorns and in 
favor of the Herefords. 

The average weight of the 160 Shorthorns shown, aged about 42 
months, was 780 kilos, or 1,719 pounds. They were sold at auction 
at prices ranging from $110 to $310 per animal, and were bought 
for export, as all good fat steers were then, hy the frozen-meat and 
chilled-meat establishments. This is equivalent to $18.40 to $136.10 
United States money. The average price was $187.75, or $82.61 
United States money, or $4.80 per hundredweight live weight. These 
are extraordinaiw prices for prize animals, carefully prepared. The 
lowest weight was 1,531 pounds and the highest 2,008. 

The Herefords averaged in weight 1,815 pounds and sold for an 
average of $200, or $88 United States money. The Polled Angus, 
with an average weight of 1,318 pounds, sold for an average of $90. 
The Holsteins showed an average weight of 1,478 pounds and brought 
an average price of $97. 50. 

The first-prize Shorthorns, the ones that won the championship of 
all breeds, weighed an average of 1,931 pounds, and one lot of 8 
brought $310 each and the other $270. When slaughtered they 
dressed out 62.2 per cent of net beef . The second-prize Shorthorns, 
composed of three lots of 8 each, averaged in weight 1,885 pounds, 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 31 

and they .sold for an average of $207. They dressed out 62.8 per cent 
of net beef. The third-prize group of Shorthorns were the heaviest, 
averaging 2,008 pounds, but the animals were marked off by the 
judges for excess of fat and for other reasons. They were sold pri- 
vately for $310 each, the same price as the champions. No block test 
was made of these animals, which were exported alive to South Africa. 

The Herefords made a fine showing when slaughtered. The first 
prize lot weighed an average of 1,821 pounds and sold for $205 each. 
They dressed out 65.01 per cent of net beef. The second prize Here- 
fords averaged 1,810 pounds and brought $195 apiece, giving 62.75 
per cent of dressed beef. 

No block tests have been reported on the Polled Angus and Hol- 
steins, but the former were not regarded as exceptionally good animals 
and no prize was awarded them. 

KIND OF CATTLE FOR EXPORT AND HOME CONSUMPTION. 

Prior to the opening of the British ports in February, 1903, the 
best grade Shorthorn steers and other steers that could grade with 
them were bought for export at $75 to $90 and occasionally a little 
more for very superior animals. When the English ports were again 
closed to Argentine live stock (May, 1903), the price for the best 
grass-fed steers of 3 to 3-J- years old, the usual selling age for export, 
was from $85 to $115. There was a good demand; in fact, more than 
the supply could meet and maintain its quality for export. Not 5 per 
cent of these steers had tasted grain, but the majority of them had 
been fattened on alfalfa and others on native grasses. This quick 
production and the ease with which such steers are sold has encroached 
a little more every year upon the reserve supply; that is, younger 
animals have been sold for export, fewer good steers are killed for 
home consumption, and more cows, heifers, and calves, as well as 
inferior steers and oxen, are used to supply the home markets. 
Thus it is extremely difficult to get a good piece of beef in the city 
of Buenos Aires. None of the best fat steers — "export type," they 
are called — are brought to Buenos Aires to be sold, or at least so 
rarel} T that the local markets are not looked to for any part of the 
supply. If a man has a lot of good steers ready for market, he 
notifies his broker in Buenos Aires, who notifies the buyers, the "fii- 
gorificos," and the exporters of live cattle, and the latter send their 
representatives to inspect the cattle. Then the buyers make bids, 
either through the inspectors on the spot or through the brokers in 
the city. Some estancieros get along without brokers and do business 
directly with the buyers. The prices quoted are for the animals on 
the estancia, and it costs from $8 to $10 each to bring them to Buenos 
Aires. The top price of $115 is but rarely paid. The usual price for 
the best animals is from $100 to $110, and still more are sold to the 



32 BUKEAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTKY. 

frigorificos at $85 to $100. Now that the English ports are closed 
again, there is a decline of perhaps 10 or 15 per cent in the prices of 
the best steers. These animals range in weight from 1,225 to 1,125 
pounds, giving a weight of 700 to 800 pounds of net beef, exclusive 
of head, feet, kidneys, liver, and other fat and offal. The marketable 
by-products there are limited and there is much more waste than in 
the great packing houses in the United States. 

The freezing works prefer steers of greater age because of their 
greater weight, but there is scarcely a good steer in the country that 
is 5 j r ears old that could have been sold younger. Very few are kept 
beyond -1 years; selling at 3 y ears or }<ounger is happening oftener, 
and is the general rule. Formerly the selling age was 4i years. 
Alfalfa has had more to do with getting the animals on the market a 
year younger than any other one cause. Cattle for the export trade 
are shipped to Buenos Aires, 450 to 750 miles, but the cheaper grades 
are driven at least a good part of the distance, as they will not stand 
the freight charges, and it is much cheaper to drive them to market. 
The public roads in Argentina are very wide on this account. 

ARGENTINE STEERS ARE GRASS OR ALFALFA FED. 

Corn-fed animals are very rarely, almost never, seen. The prices 
paid for steers b}^ the frigorificos, which, until a few months ago, 
furnished, and again at the present time do furnish, almost the only 
market for good steers, did not warrant any •corn feeding. A few 
years ago, before the English ports were closed to Argentine live 
cattle, so-called corn-fed steers brought $5 to $10 per head more than 
those that had not received any grain. But these were not really corn- 
fed, for they had received corn and dry hay for a month or so only 
before being brought to market, and this in order to teach them to eat 
it on the voj^age. They had their accustomed alfalfa or grass pasture 
during the da} T and the corn and other dry feed at night. This system 
may be resumed this winter if the price of corn is lower than it is 
now. At present producers of fat steers say it would not pay. Corn 
is now selling for about 35 to 40 cents United States money per 
American bushel of 56 pounds. It is claimed by many Argentine 
breeders and feeders that the alfalfa and grass-fed beef is as good as 
corn-fed beef, but the best-informed ones — those who know the differ- 
ence and have seen both kinds- — realize that the Argentine, who would 
get the best price for his steers in competition with those from the 
United States, must finish them on corn, and this course is being advo- 
cated by man}^ who predict that this must soon come. It is likely to 
be a long time, however, before an} T considerable amount of corn -fed 
Argentine beef will find its way abroad. It will require some strong 
object lessons to convince the great mass of producers, because they are 
doing very well at present; and until they- see Argentine corn-fed steers 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. 



Plate VI. 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate VII. 



N 

m 

CO 

I 



CO 
H 
> 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate VIII. 




ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 33 

sold in England for a much higher price than the grass-fed ones the} T 
will not go to the trouble and expense of feeding. The present tend- 
ency toward mixed farming may bring it about to a certain extent, 
but the country is at present so divided into " zones " for this and that 
purpose that corn raising and steer feeding are not very likely to be 
done on the same estancia to any great extent for several years. The 
increasing demand for such animals, both in England and the United 
States, is an influence which will sooner or later bring about their pro- 
duction in Argentina, where they can undoubtedly be grown for many 
years very cheaply. Some feeders tried corn feeding on a small scale 
several years ago, with excellent success, but they had dinicuuVy in 
finding any buyer in Argentina who would pay the difference. One 
breeder tried the sending of a few on his own account, and he says 
that he made a profit of over $10 gold per head after charging off all 
possible expense for feed and labor. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF TASAJO DECLINING. 

The saladeros are showing rapid falling off in their production of 
tasajo, or jerked beef, because they can not sell their product at a 
price that will warrant paying the prices for animals in competition 
with the frigorilicos, the beef-extract factories, the export trade, or 
even the city market. One great factor} 7 has been gradually made 
over from a jerked-meat establishment into one for the manufacture 
of beef extract, for which a better quality of meat is used, while onh T 
the parts undesirable for beef extract are used for tasajo. One of these 
companies has just paid a 20 per cent dividend. 

MEAT SUPPLY OF BUENOS AIRES. 

The beef supply of the city of Buenos Aires comes from one great 
market, where from 1,200 to 3,500 animals — steers, oxen, cows, 
heifers, and calves — are brought daily and sold by various commission 
men to the cit} 7 butchers. Part of the sales are at auction, but the 
majority are private. The killing is all done in a place provided by 
the chVr and is under municipal inspection. Sheep and hogs, as well 
as cattle, are all killed here, each man killing on his own account. 
There is a tremendous waste, especially during the summer, as there 
is no refrigeration, and all meat is sold the &&y it is killed, or surely 
the next day. Many butchers buy carcasses from others who kill by 
wholesale and supply retailers. If the retailer, when ordering his 
supply the day before, overestimates the next day's business, he 
suffers a loss, and it often happens that the price of meat begins to 
fall before noon and by night is half what it was in the morning, 
especially if the day has been warm. The meat, besides being usually 
from inferior animals, is tough and stringy and full of water, shrink- 

3369— No. 48—03—3 



34 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Lng heavily in the cooking. It has hud no time to cool, and being 
grass-fed is watery. Besides, it is sold by the chunk, not by weight, 
and is cut up in much the same manner as meat is cut for dogs or 
menagerie beasts. Such a thing as a sirloin or porterhouse steak is 
unknown in Argentina. The carcasses being hacked to pieces without 
regard to the choice cuts and sold at a uniform price for the whole, 
good and bad, makes it very difficult to get a good piece, though some- 
times tender, juicy steaks and attractive roasts may be had in the 
best restaurants and hotels, but it is by no means a sure thing. Several 
efforts have been made to enforce the municipal law requiring meat to 
be sold by the kilo; but the butchers are opposed to it, and customers 
who demand the right to buy by the kilo soon learn that it does not 
pa} T , for the}' get more if they buy by the piece. All these conditions 
would seem to offer a good opening for a modern fresh-meat estab- 
lishment in the city of Buenos Aires, supplying good chilled and 
seasoned meat, properly cut up, with more economical slaughtering 
and according to better methods. 

The prices obtained at the Buenos Aires cattle market vary greatly, 
according to the quality of the animals offered and the daily demands 
of the market. For steers the prices run from $30 to $75, the aver- 
age being probably not far from $50 to $60. For oxen, about the 
same. For cows, $20 to $60, with occasionairv a few at higher prices — 
those having a little better blood that have been picked up for breed- 
ing. Heifers sell at $14 to $30 and calves for from $3 to $18, the 
average being somewhere around $8. Many of the cows, heifers, 
calves, and steers sold in this market are not slaughtered, but are 
bought to stock other estancias. This happens very often at the 
extremes of seasons or when some part of the country has suffered a 
drought. Under such conditions estaucieros find their camps over- 
stocked, so they keep as many animals as they dare — generally more 
than the} T should — and send the rest through this market to some more 
fortunate part of the country where there is feed. 

Prices of meat in the Buenos Aires markets at present (May, 1903) 
are quoted as follows in paper money per pound and piece, but, as a 
matter of fact, the prices paid are less, because meat is sold by the 
lump cheaper than it would be b} r actual weight: 

Beef. — Loin, 20 cents; roast, 25 to 32; boiling, for puchero, the 
poor man's national dish, 16; steaks, 20; rump, 16; breast. 9 to 13; 
ox tongues, 80 cents each; Hamburg steak, 22; bones, 9. 

Veal. — 13 to 36 cents. 

PorJc. — 32 to 45 cents, and ham, imported, $2.0-4, domestic. 68 cents, 
the latter being very inferior. • 

Mutton. — 13 to 45 cents. 

La i ul>. — 18 to 36 cents. 

Turkeys.— %% to $6 each. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 35 

Fowls.— $1.20 to SI. 50 each. 
Chickens.— |i to Si. 20 each. 
Bucks.— II to 11.50 each. 
TI7//Z checks. — 40 to 70 cents each. 
Geese. — $3.50 each. 

Martinettas {similar to quail hut larger). — $1 to $1.40 a pair. 
Partridges. — 30 cents per pair. 
Pigeons. — 60 cents per pair. 
RabljiU. — %\. 

SHORTAGE OF COWS IX ARGENTINA. 

Returning* to the fat-stock show: Some good, fat cows were shown, 
both Shorthorns and Herefords, but these are only a minor incident 
of the show and are usually those that have proved useless for breed- 
ing purposes. The prices obtained were very poor. The best ones, 
weighing from 1,400 to 1,500 pounds, were bought \>x one freezing 
company — which ordinarily kills no cows of any description — at S62 
to §77, and others went for $41. The sacrifice of cows and heifers 
is one of the most deplorable mistakes now being made in Argentina, 
and is so regarded by the majority of the most progressive breeders; 
yet it goes on, as one may see an}' day by going to the "mataderos," 
the municipal slaughtering place in connection with the Buenos Aires 
cattle market. To be sure, a good proportion of these cows are of a 
very inferior class — "clearings," often, from estancias where the stock 
is being improved. But the number of cows sold for beef is due, in a 
large measure, to the demand for beef that can not be supplied in any 
other way and is another evidence that the number of cattle in the 
country is overestimated and has probably not increased much, if any, 
since the census of 1895 3 which placed the total number at 22.000,000. 
The country is short of cows, and it can not afford to kill them so long 
as they are useful for breeding. A proposition to restrict the killing 
of cows to those over 6 3 T ears old met with derision. The Government 
would like to do something to check this destructive practice, but as 
yet has not found a practical way to begin it, and the same is true in 
regard to calves. 

These conditions indicate how strong the demand is for cows of good 
blood. The expositions show it by the small numbers of cows and 
heifers shown or sold. Those who have good cows do not like either 
to get them in condition to satisfy show demands or to take the risk 
and undergo the expense of taking them to the shows, and any good 
breeder who has good cows never thinks of selling them, but rather of 
watching for a chance to buy more. High-grade cows, as stated else- 
where, are eagerly sought for, and good prices will be paid for them, 
and have been paid, and are now being paid whenever they are offered. 



30 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

SALES OF HORSES IN ARGENTINA. 

Of the 113 horses in the May horse fair, only a few were worthy of 
special notice, and these were the light coach and saddle horses. The 
prices for the great majority of animals sold were very low, but for 
some of the prize animals, and for the attractive light coach and sad- 
dle horses, the prices seemed to be satisfactory, as prices go in that 
country. The horse business, while it has improved much, is not in as 
nourishing a condition as it is likely to be. Hard times, bicycles, elec- 
tric street railways, and even automobiles, so it is said in the papers 
there, have hurt the horse business. The highest prices obtained were 
for coach horses, the lighter ones bringing the best prices. The first 
prize winner in the light coach class, a hackney Anglo-Norman sorrel 
mare, brought $2,100, while the third horse in the same class, a geld- 
ing from the same breeder, sold for $2,000, and the second prize 
winner from another breeder, $1,000. The third prize pair in coach 
horses, Yorkshire- American cross, sold for $1,300. A heavy Shire 
coach horse, second prize winner, aged 5 years, from an imported sire 
and purebred mare, sold for $700. The first prize Anglo-Norman 
saddle horse sold for $300, the second for $250, a few others at $300 
to $100, and a number of attractive ones from $100 to $150. A few 
hackneys brought $600 and $700, but most of them went for much 
less — around $100 and even less — and hackney mares sold from $15 to 
$90. The Clydesdales brought very poor prices, and were a rather 
"log} 7 " lot, most of them, though, of fairly good breeding. Perhaps 
the fact that grain is not often fed to horses there may have had some- 
thing to do with this appearance of many horses. The first prize 
Clydesdales, in groups of 6 colts, sold for $150 each, the second group 
for $195, and the third for $225. As with the bulls in the fine-stock 
show, the opinions of buyers do not always agree with those of the 
judges who award the prizes. Other Clydesdales, pure and of mixed 
blood, sold as low as $35 and $36, and many went at $55 to $100, 
though some also commanded from $120 to $180. A great many camp- 
bred mares and ordinary geldings found slow buyers at $10 to $60, 
and even less than the lower figure. Some sold for only $15 each. 
These horses were not worth more than they brought, for an ordinary 
horse may be bought any day for $30, or less than $11 United States 
money. The "cocheros" (drivers of ordinary carriages for hire) in 
Buenos Aires, who abuse their horses shamefully, find it cheaper to 
buy a new horse than to feed or take decent care of the poor old 
animals they often are seen driving. 

Some splendid mules were shown — large, strong animals that were 
shipped to South Africa and sold at a good price. Two lots were 
especialh' noteworthy, the result of a cross of a Poitou jack on 
Clydesdale mares. But an estanciero who has tried them says that 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 37 

his colonists found ,thein too slow and lazy and inferior to the smaller 
but more energetic mule of the country. Still the large mules are in 
good demand, and a few big American jacks could be disposed of 
to excellent advantage. Some Texas stockmen who went to Argentina 
a few months ago to start a stock ranch and do general farming near 
Lake Nahuel Huapi, in the southwestern part of the Republic, brought 
two big jacks, which excited a good deal of admiration, and experi- 
enced men wanted to know where more such animals could be had. 
The mule business was a very profitable one for Argentina during the 
Boer war, and the countiy, especially the northern part, in the prov- 
ince of Cordoba, has been pretty- well drained of mules. The business 
is practical^ over now, but breeding is going on, and the demand for 
mules and for jacks is good. 

SALES OF SHEEP IN ARGENTINA. 

Only 240 fat sheep were exhibited in the May show, for at that 
time sheep breeders were rather discouraged, or had been for a year. 
The prices, both of wool and mutton, were very low. Plenty of 
sheep were sold in the early part of the }^ear 1902 for $1 to $1.50. 
Fat sheep, fit for export, were bringing only $1 to $5.50, and the 
market for these was confined to the three freezing works. There is 
record of the sale of three lots of these sheep, 120 in all. Two lots of 
40 — one of Lincolns and one of Hampshire Downs — sold for $5.50 
each, while another lot of 10 Lincolns went for $1.80. 

ANIMAL SANITARY REGULATIONS. 

The Argentine Government devoted much effort during- the year 
1902 to the task of persuading the British Board of Agriculture, not 
only that Argentina is free from foot-and-mouth disease, but that 
there is no danger of its being brought into the country from its 
neighbors, especially from Uruguay, and in turn sent again to the 
foreign cattle markets in England. Many times it seemed that the 
English ports, closed to Argentine cattle and sheep in April, 1900, 
were about to be opened, but some new objection from the British 
Board of Agriculture would prevent it. The influence of the English 
meat producers was very great and the English breeders seemed to 
be in great fear of another outbreak from imported infection. But 
at last the Argentine Government was able to comply with the condi- 
tions imposed by the British Board of Agriculture, and on Febru- 
ary 3, 1903, the bars were let down, permitting Argentine sheep and 
cattle to be sent to the English ports alive under conditions similar to 
those required of importations from the United States. The condi- 
tions required of the Argentine Government were not severe, once 
the fact was established, as it undoubtedly was, that foot-and-mouth 
disease did not exist in Argentina and had not for a year been within 



38 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

the limits of the territory from which cattle ara exported or alfalfa 
shipped that could be infected. The best authorities in Argentina 
do not deny, but freety admit, that foot-and-mouth disease is liable 
to appear at any time in places, and it exists now in some of the dis- 
tant provinces, from which cattle are not exported and but seldom 
brought directly to market. They are brought to better camps to 
be fattened before they are exported or slaughtered, and the con- 
tention is that the system of inspection within this territory is so 
thorough that the existence of the disease is detected immediately 
upon its appearance. Rigorous measures are then taken to confine it, 
and it is soon stamped out. So men like Ronaldo Tidblom, the chief 
live-stock authorit} r of Argentina and director of the bureau of ani- 
mal industry, claim that there is no danger of infected animals being 
exported or of arriving with the disease. No animal can be exported 
without having first been inspected on the estancia by a Federal Gov- 
ernment inspector and again in the port of Buenos Aires, Rosario, or 
La Plata, whence animals may be exported. 

The recent outbreak that caused the Argentine Government to 
promptly prohibit exportation of all kinds of live animals to whatever 
destination was confined to three estancias within 65 miles of the city 
of Buenos Aires. It first appeared among some imported animals 
undergoing quarantine in the port. The first animal showing the dis- 
ease was promptly slaughtered. In a day or two 2 other animals 
appearing infected were also slaughtered. The next day 7 more 
showed the disease, and by this time the origin of it had been traced 
to green alfalfa brought from an estancia which was shown to have the 
disease. Thereupon, it being proved that the animals had not brought 
the disease with them from England, and that all were infected, no 
more were killed, and all that pass the tuberculin test at the termina- 
tion of the quarantine, after they recover from the aphthous fever (or 
aftosa, as foot-and-mouth disease is called there), will be admitted the 
same as if they had not had the disease. In the meantime the places 
of its appearance were quarantined. The authorities do not anticipate 
any further spread of the disease and expect it will all be over in a 
month or so. rt The closing of the ports was out of regard for the Eng- 
lish fear of the disease and to show a determined effort to maintain a 
clean bill of health. 

The close proximity of the Republic of Uruguay, where more or 
less the same conditions prevail as in Argentina, led the British 
Board of Agriculture to insist that the Argentine Government must 
either induce Uruguay to adopt the same regulations or exclude Uru- 
guayan cattle altogether from the country. The negotiations with 
Uruguay were attended with difficulty. The saladeros, or jerked-meat 

a Since this was written the Argentine Government has declared officially that the 
disease no longer exists in the country. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 39 

factories, on the Uruguay River, on both sides, get their cattle from 
both sides of the river. The stockmen of the Argentine province of 
Entre Rios sell niany of their cattle to the Uruguayan saladeros, and 
the Argentine saladeros get cattle from Uruguay. There were other 
dealings in feeders and fat stock, so the suspension of this traffic would 
have entailed heavy losses. The last pc^int discussed was the desire of 
Uruguay to be allowed to load live stock on the same ships with 
Argentine animals for England and other points. This was not agree- 
able to the Buenos Aires Government, as it would involve additional 
risk of disease appearing among the animals on the voyage and there 
would be no way of knowing in which country it originated. Finally 
the Uruguayan Government agreed to the conditions, as it shares, on 
equal terms, in the benefits of admission to the English market, while 
the work of removing the obstacles has been done by the Argentines. 

The Governments of Argentina and Uruguay have made regulations 
in substance as follows, governing the importation and exportation of 
animals, in compliance with the demands of the British Board of 
Agriculture : 

Article 1 prohibits (a) the importation or landing of animals, animal 
remains, etc., from any country where dangerous contagious or infec- 
tious animal diseases exist; (&) the importation of animals from a 
country w T hose laws do not, in the opinion of the executive, offer suf- 
ficient guarantee against contagion; (c) the importation of animals from 
abroad through any other port than Buenos Aires; (d) the importation 
of animals from any country that have originally come from a prohib- 
ited country; (e) the importation of animals in a ship which has, 
within thirty da} T s of its embarkation, loaded animals in a prohibited 
country; (f) the importation of animals in a ship which, after loading, 
has been in contact with any kind of animals proceeding from a prohib- 
ited country, or which has called at any port of such a countiy; (g) 
the entry into an Argentine port of an}^ ship which has, during the 
preceding sixty days, loaded animals of such a country; (/*) the impor- 
tation of animals having "garrapatas," or Texas fever ticks. 

Article 2 prohibits the exportation of animals attacked by contagious 
diseases, or suspected of being so, or bruised, and of those that have 
not undergone veterinary inspection on the estancia and at the port of 
embarkation, and that have not been transported in disinfected vehicles. 
Also exportation in a ship which has on board animals from a prohib- 
ited nation or that has not been disinfected after having remained in 
or touched at, during the preceding sixty da} 7 s, the port of a nation 
under prohibition by reason of the cattle plague, or during thirty days, 
if prohibited on account of the existence of pleuro-pneumonia, foot- 
and-mouth disease, or glanders; also the exportation of cattle having 
the Texas fever ticks. 

The importation of all classes of animals from Russia, Roumania, 



10 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Servia, Cape Colony, Natal, Orange River Colony, and other British 
colonies in South Africa; the German and Portuguese possessions of 
East and West Africa, the French possessions of West Africa, and 
Madagascar, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and English, 
Dutch, and French Guiana is prohibited. 

Importation of cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs from the continent of 
Europe, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Paragua} T , and from the States of 
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and 
Rhode Island, of the United States, is prohibited. There is no pro- 
hibition against the rest of the United States, the New England States 
having been included in the prohibited list because of the outbreak 
of foot-and-mouth disease there. This prohibition will be removed 
when the disease, in the opinion of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, is effectuall} 7 stamped out. a 

Article 4: requires that animals imported must be accompanied by 
a certificate (in the United States from the Department of Agriculture) 
showing that the cattle plague has not existed for ten years in the 
country from which they proceed; and that neither pleuro-pneumonia 
nor foot-and-mouth disease has existed there during the preceding six 
months; that as regards sheep it must be shown that no case of small- 
pox in sheep has occurred during the six months; as regards horses a 
similar certificate in reference to glanders and lampas. This certificate 
must be indorsed by the Argentine consul at the port of embarkation. 

Provision is made for the inspection of ships bringing live stock 
and for segregation and quarantine, or destruction if they have the 
prescribed diseases, of animals not found in perfect sanitary condition. 

Article 6 specifies the quarantine and inspection of animals imported, 
as follows: Cattle, 40 days, during which neither the owner nor anyone 
representing him may have access to the animals. At the expiration 
of this period cattle are subjected to the tuberculin test, and if they 
react, showing that they have tuberculosis, they must be slaughtered 
without compensation or removed from the country within 8 days. 
Sheep are to be kept in quarantine and isolated for 15 days and horses 
for 8 days. Horses may be tested for glanders at the expiration of 
the quarantine period, and if the} 7 have the disease, or if they have 
been in contact with horses suffering from glanders, must be slaugh- 
tered without compensation. The length of the quarantine is at the 
discretion of the director of the division de ganaderia (bureau of 
animal industry) and may be extended, though it is not likely to be. 

Special provisions are made for commerce between the Republics of 
Argentina and Uruguay, requiring thorough inspection and dipping 
in the official dipping places for killing ticks. Importations from 

« Foot-and-mouth disease has entirely disappeared from the United States, and on 
July 20, 1903, the Secretary of Agriculture issued an order reopening the port of 
Boston for export cattle. — Editor. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 41 

Uruguay are not subject to the same regulations as other countries, 
the certificate of health of cattle and other animals being more inclu- 
sive and being given from each section of the country from which 
animals proceed. 

CONDITIONS AND COST OP ADMISSION OF BREEDING STOCK. 

All breeding stock is admitted free of duty. Importers should form 
a connection at Buenos Aires before shipping, as it will be a great 
advantage upon arrival. 

The auction house of Adolfo Bullrich & Co. , of Buenos Aires is one 
of the most prominent in Argentina; in fact, it sells more than half of 
all the breeding stock sold in the country. The founder of the estab- 
lishment has been mayor of Buenos Aires two terms, and he will spend 
some months this } 7 ear traveling in the United States studying our 
breeding establishments. His son, Eduardo Bullrich, is the manager. 
These men speak English and have a wide knowledge of the country 
and large acquaintance and influence with breeders of Argentina. 

Breeding stock, feeding stock, farms of all kinds, cit} r property, and 
almost everything, i n fact, is sold at auction in Argentina. The sales 
are held in a great market, running through from one street to another, 
in the very midst of the business district. Here the animals are kept 
on exhibition for two or three weeks generally previous to the sales. 
The sales are well advertised and are attended bj T the leading breeders, 
especially during the spring sales — in September and October. 

The service in the embarcadero, where animals are detained during 
quarantine and the owners are not allowed to see them, is generally 
quite satisfactory to the English importers of Buenos Aires. There 
has been no complaint aside from one lot, but, on the contraiy, the 
service has been complimented. There is no cause to anticipate any 
trouble or excessive charge, the regular rates being given herewith. 
The auctioneer's commission is 6 per cent on sales, and the other 
expenses upon arrival in Buenos Aires, aside from personal expenses, 
until the animals are sold, are as follows: 

At the landing stage, or embarcadero: 

Unloading cattle or horses, per head a $2. 00 

Unloading sheep, per head 50 

Feed (hay, maize, and bran) per diem per head — 

Cattle and horses 1. 50 

Cattle and horses, with oil cake and oats 2. 00 

Sheep ( hay, maize, and bran) , per head 40 

Entrance and crane fee (Government tax on landing stage) — 

Cattle and horses, gold 05 

Sheep, gold 01 

«A11 reference to money, unless gold is specified, is in Argentine paper, worth 44 
cents in United States money on the dollar. 



42 BUREAU OP ANIMAL INDUSTRY, 

Clearing at the custom-house: 

Stamps for clearing, $1 per $1,000 declared value. 
Stamps for documents, $6.75 on each consignment. 
Fee of custom-house broker, from $10 to $25, according to shipment. 
At the auction house: 

Feed (hay, maize, bran, and oil cake) per diem — 

Cattle and horses, per head $2. 00 

Sheep, per head 50 

Driving from landing stage pens to auction mart: 

Cattle and horses, per head 1. 50 

Cartage of cattle, according to number of animals, as may be arranged. 

Cartage of sheep per cart 2. 00 

Receiving animals and delivery at auction mart is gratis. 

So little business has been offered in recent years that there are no 
regular lixed rates on the shipment of animals from New York to 
Buenos Aires. Four English companies run regular steamers direct 
from New York to Buenos Aires, and they have all expressed a willing- 
ness to accommodate shippers of pedigreed stock to a greater or less 
extent. These companies are the Prince Line, the Lamport & Holt 
Line, the Norton Line, and Houlder Brothers. The rates are as fol- 
lows, in United States money: Cattle, $55 per head; sheep, $13.20 per 
head; horses, $82.50 per head; donkej^s, $27.50 per head. 

The animals will usually be carried on the after deck, in the open, 
with proper cover. The voyage, except the last four days, is a smooth 
and warm one usually, especially in the season when shipments should 
be made. From Rio de Janeiro to Montevideo it is likely to be cool 
and rough in Juty and August, so that precautions should be taken to 
protect the animals. 

The steamship company supplies nothing but water to the animals. 
All feed must be supplied by the shipper, but it is carried free unless 
there is a large amount in excess of what is required; in that case it is 
charged freight at the rate of $3.86 per ton. Where 6 cattle, or 35 
sheep, or 4 horses are shipped at one time, free passage is given to one 
attendant unless he requires cabin accommodations, in which case he 
is charged $50 passage money. The vo} T age is not an unpleasant one: 
the ships are fairly comfortable for a few passengers, and it is highly 
advisable that valuable animals should be in the care of some one who 
understands them and is personally i nterested in their welfare. Arrange- 
ments can be made with the captain of the ship for the care of the 
animals by the crew, however, for a small fee. It is of the utmost 
importance that the animals shall have plenty of cool, fresh water dur- 
ing the vo3 T age, not only for drinking, but for bathing the animals 
while passing through the Tropics. Salt water will not do, as it causes 
irritation of the skin and makes the coat look rough. Coal dust has 
the same effect. Stalls should be padded for the same reason, as it 
will pay to make sure that animals arrive looking as well as pos- 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 43 

sible. A laxative should be provided for use while passing through 
the Tropics. The length of the vo} r age varies from twenty-three to 
thirty days. 

Insurance on the animals against all risks may be had in reliable com- 
panies for from o to 10 per cent, depending upon the line and the ship, 
and it is advisable to carry insurance, as the steamship company does 
not assume any responsibility. 

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. 

During the year 1902 Argentina exported 9,308,200 pounds of but- 
ter, chiefly to England and South Africa. This was an increase of 187 
per cent over the exportation of the previous year, which was 3,232,391 
pounds. There are no statistics of production for home consumption, 
but the best estimate available — that of the Rural Society — puts the pro- 
duction of the province of Buenos Aires at 20 tons per dsij. The pro- 
duction and consumption of butter outside this province is not possible 
to estimate closely, but certainly all the rest of the country does not 
produce 10 per cent of the amount produced in this province, if we leave 
out of the account the amount produced and consumed in the city and 
vicinity of Rosario, the second city of the Republic, having a popula- 
tion of over 120,000. Even this city is supplied, to a large extent, 
from the province of Buenos Aires, for as yet only a small proportion 
of the estancieros are making butter. The private production and 
consumption must also be omitted in this comparison, for that is 
increasing on the estancias. Still there are thousands of people own- 
ing various numbers of cattle who either go without butter, or buy it 
in the towns. 

The city of Buenos Aires, with its 876,000 people, is, of course, the 
chief local market for Argentine butter, and it is well supplied with a 
very good quality. The consumption is estimated at only 4^ pounds 
per capita per annum. The working classes do not have butter on 
their tables as they do in the United States. The present price in the 
city is about 22 to 24 cents gold per pound. 

To supplv the demand there are four great factories or s} T stems of 
factories. Their plan of operation is something unique. The indus- 
try is, of course, only in its incipiency, but it is interesting to note the 
process and rapidity of its development, its extensive possibilities, and 
the probability of its immediate and tremendous growth. 

La Union Argentina, the chief butter maker of Argentina, is a 
cooperative creamery on a very large scale. It was organized in 1899 
to save the butter industry from the collapse that threatened it, which 
was due to the wastefulness of small individual production and the 
lack of uniformity and modern methods. The last report of the 



44 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Argentine Rural Society gives an account of the organization and 
operation of La Union Argentina, which is in substance as follows: 

The applicant for membership must be a producer of milk, agree not to dispose of 
it or any of its products except through the society, and he must own five shares. 
But one need not be a member in order to receive the benefits of the organization, 
since members and nonmembers are treated alike in the charges for services ren- 
dered, and are paid the proceeds of sales in the same manner and at the same time. 
The society receives any amount of milk or cream from any person, whether member 
or not, to be made into butter. Patrons of the society pay the expenses of the cream- 
ery — freights and other expenses— in proportion to the value of their consignments. 
Those who send milk are not charged for the use of the separators. A commission 
of 8 cents paper per kilo is charged on the butter made from either milk sent in and 
separated or from cream that has been separated before being sent to the factory. 
This amounts to about 1.6 cents gold per pound, and is to cover the following charges : 

(1) Freight charges on milk or cream. 

(2) Cartage on cream from the railway station in Buenos Aires to the factory. 

(3) Attending to orders for utensils, for fuel, instructions, etc. 

(4) Cans for transporting cream. 

(5) Inspection of the separators by frequent tests of the separated milk. 

(6) Making, care, and sale of butter. 

The society does not purchase milk or cream, nor does it guarantee any fixed price 
for the butter made from either. After testing each consignment it is made into 
butter, and the directors fix the basis for making up the monthly accounts in 
accordance with the prices obtained. 

The society had thirty-five producing members on the 1st of May, 1899, and the 
increase has been so rapid that in September, 1902, it had 1,134 consignors of milk 
and cream, members and nonmembers, and forty-three creameries throughout the 
province of Buenos Aires and two in Entre Rios. Since the latter date four new 
creameries have been started in the province of Entre Rios. These new creameries 
were started by the producers subscribing for the stock to the extent of the cost of 
the machinery, at the same time declaring in writing how much milk each can fur- 
nish daily.* Each of these creameries is separating about 7,000 quarts of milk per 
day. The society has many cream-separating stations throughout the country, 
wherever the milk can be obtained in sufficient quantities. The daily production of 
the society is now about eighteen tons. 

A creamery in Argentina means a place where cream is separated 
from milk and the cream sent to the factory in the city to be made 
into butter, cheese, or other milk product. What we understand as a 
creamery is called a ' ' f abrica de manteca," or butter factory, in Argen- 
tina. La Union Argentina makes all its butter in Buenos Aires, 
receiving cream from many stations, or creameries, scattered all 
through the provinces where dairying has been taken up. Two of 
these stations are in the northern part of the Province of Santa Fe. in 
the Jewish colony. The cream is sent daily to Buenos Aires, twenty 
hours by train, in all weather, without ice. The colonists get about 
2^ cents paper per liter in winter and 3i cents in summer for their 
milk, equivalent to a trifle more than 1 cent gold per quart in the winter 
and 1.4 cents in the summer, with which the} T are well satisfied. They 
set the cans containing milk out in the road in the hot sun and the 
creamery wagon comes along and picks them up, dropping the empty 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 45 

cans in the same manner. The skimmed milk is used at the creamery 
to feed pigs. 

The railway rates for the transportation of milk and cream, per 100 
kilos (220 pounds) are as follows, in Argentine paper money: 

Less than 50 kilometers (31 miles): Southern, $1.36; Western, $1; 
Rosario, $0.90; and the Pacific, $0.73. 

From 50 to 100 kilometers (31 to 62 miles): Southern, $1.57; Western, 
$1.20; Rosario, $1.70; and the Pacific, $2.40. 

From 200 to 300 kilometers (124 to 186 miles): Southern, $2.18; 
Western, $2.86; Rosario, $3.40; and the Pacific, $6. 

From 300 to 900 kilometers (186 to 559 miles): Southern, $2,27; 
Western, $3.64; Rosario, $4.30; and the Pacific, $9. 

The Jewish colony referred to ships by the Rosario line and pay s 
the highest figure, as it is 355 miles from Buenos Aires. There is 
much complaint, especially from dairymen near Buenos Aires, of the 
high rates of transportation maintained by the railways. 

The society protects the reputation of its butter product b} T requir- 
ing every exporter to brand the cases "Producto Argentino," and to 
receive shipments on shipboard direct^ from the society. The price 
obtained by the producer is not far from 80 cents paper per kilo, or 
16 cents gold per pound. The average price in London in 1902 was 
about 22.5 cents gold per pound, leaving a comfortable margin to cover 
the cost of shipment and give the exporter a satisfactory profit. The 
average Buenos Aires prices, in December, for four years, have been, 
in gold, as follows: 1899, 19.2 cents; 1900, 19.6 cents; 1901, 20 cents; 
1902, 18.2 cents. 

Argentine butter has won a good reputation in the English mar- 
kets, and has been sold in competition with the French, Holland, 
and Australian products at prices almost as good as the best, and 
it has been gaining in price as well as in quantity exported. The 
amount of the exportation is increasing rapidly, as new creameries 
are being erected, and the capacity of those already in operation is 
being enlarged. New territory is being opened up and separating 
stations established, where the milk is brought and the cream taken 
out and sent to Buenos Aires or some other place to be made into 
butter. 

Argentine butter is of a very good quality, and uniformity is 
secured hj the large production under one management. It lacks the 
firmness and grain of United States butter, however, and even with- 
out considering the fact that it is never salted, unless- so ordered, it 
does not seem to have quite the rich flavor of that made in the best 
creameries in the United States. However, it suits the European 
market very well and is gaining ground there. The South African 
market is also an important one for Argentina in this respect, as in 
others. The salted butter, which is worked twice, being left to stand 



46 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTEY. 

over night after salting, is of a very fine, even quality, firm and rich 
in flavor, and compares very well with that made in the United States. 

The city of Buenos Aires has three great daily companies that sup- 
ply all milk products to the people at retail and also make some 
butter for export and for sale outside Buenos Aires. There are two 
or three other butter manufacturing companies that buy milk and 
cream and export butter, and within a year or two these will be 
numerous. 

The dairy business in the city of Buenos Aires is interesting and 
in some ways unique, Three companies have large dairies of their 
oavu, where attention has been for some years given to the breeding 
of milch cows. The peculiarity of the dairy industry there is the 
establishment all over the city by these three companies of little 
lecherias, or milk depots, where milk is sold in every form, both 
fresh and manufactured. These little shops are located in all parts of 
the city, even on the principal shopping streets, and are veiy clean 
and attractive. The interior is always painted white, and the attend- 
ants are usually young women. Milk as a beverage is popular, and 
all these places have it fresh, sweet, and cool, and also buttermilk and 
other milk beverages. A large glass of milk costs 10 cents paper, or 
a little over 1 cents of our money. It is estimated that the three com- 
panies sell daily from 18,000 to 19,000 glasses. The daily consump- 
tion of milk in the city is about 200,000 liters, or 211,310 quarts. 
These hygienically conducted establishments sell about one-fifth of it 
The rest is sold in a multitude of ways by small dairies. Many of 
them drive the cows about and milk them in the streets as the milk is 
called for by their patrons. Others do not take the cows out, but 
keep them in prominent places in the city, and milk them on order, so 
people can see what they are getting. Some lecheros (milk sellers) 
still go about in the old fashion, with milk cans on horseback, as they 
still do in the provincial towns. The three companies referred to sell 
milk at 15 cents per liter, or 20 cents delivered. The prices obtained 
by the other milk sellers range from 8 to 20 cents paper per liter, 
according to the quality of the milk and the repute of the dealer. 
The city has a S3 T stem of inspection of milk, but through lack of suffi- 
cient inspectors it is not very efficient. The milk is usually of a fair 
quality, and that of the three companies is always good. Sterilized 
milk, which they prepare and sell in sealed bottles, is much used. 

Two of the three companies have contributed to the advancement of 
the dairy industry b} r the development of manufactured products from 
it. One has two fine estancias about 60 miles from Buenos Aires 
stocked with about 2,000 cows, as well as other stock. The cream is 
separated from the milk on the estancia, and only the cream is sent to 
the factoiy in Buenos Aires. Casein, also an important export prod- 
uct, is taken out of the milk after the cream has been extracted, and 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 47 

what remains is fed to pigs. Besides butter and sterilized milk, the 
dairy companies make a preparation peculiar to Argentina, known 
as "dulcede leche," literally, " sweet of milk." This confection is 
made by boiling whole milk and sugar for several hours, with con- 
stant stirring, until it becomes very thick, a sugary paste that is deli- 
cious as a dressing or as a dessert by itself, and is very popular there. 
The people make it themselves and use it freely. Condensed milk of 
excellent quality, both sweetened and natural, is made by these com- 
panies. Another milk product that has found high favor in Buenos 
Aires is that known as "leche mater nizada," or baby's milk. One 
company has been especially successful with this milk prepared for 
infants. It is put up in sealed bottles, and it retains its sweetness 
without carrying any deleterious substance. People taking long voy- 
ages often take hundreds of bottles of this milk for the use of the 
baby. The same company makes fine toilet soap and several other 
products from milk. Two put up butter in small tins, also " sterilized 
milk, for export. 

The keen rivalry among these companies, especially the two best 
known, shows the interest taken in the development of the dairy 
industry. Their exhibits at the recent show attracted more attention 
than any other feature. The business in all these lines is developing 
with a rush, but it is certainly permanently established and destined 
to be one of the chief sources of Argentine wealth. The waste of milk 
that has been going on in the country has begun to decrease; estan- 
cieros are beginning to understand the importance of making the most 
out of the milk and to see the mistake they have been making in 
allowing the calves to have it. 

SELECTION OF COWS FOR MILKING QUALITIES. 

Estancieros are looking to their breeding to get milking qualities, 
something to which the average breeder has given no thought hereto- 
fore. The dairy breeds, except the Jersey, are attracting more atten- 
tion. For this reason milk-giving Shorthorns will commend themselves 
to Argentines, provided that they are also meat producers; that is, 
a Bates cow or bull, known to have a good milk-producing inheritance, 
will be regarded very favorably, provided the animal promises to pro- 
duce first-class beef animals also. Formerly nothing but beef was 
thought of; cows were rarely milked, and calves ran with their mothers 
until the} 7 were 8 or 9 months old. Now the} 7 speak of taming cows 
to milk as they would of breaking a wild horse. The progressive 
breeders and estancieros are making selections of their cows with 
regard to their milking qualities, and are seeking to improve the 
amount and quality of the milk of their offspring. 

Holsteins have some strong admirers, and Dr. Enrique Fynn, one of 
the principal breeders of Argentina, is about to make a visit to the 



48 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

United States to secure some new breeding stock which the laws of 
Argentina do not permit him to bring from the Continent of Europe. 
He is well satisfied as to the superiority of the Holstein for his purpose 
and as a meat producer at the same time. The Holsteins are stronger 
in the country than any other of the special dairy breeds. 

Flemish cattle have been bred for fifteen }^ears on one estancia near 
Las Heras, about 60 miles southwest of Buenos Aires. One owner 
has won many prizes with his cattle. He obtained his first stock 
nearly twenty years ago and has imported a number of well-bred cows 
from Belgium since. The importation of cattle and sheep from the 
Continent of Europe to Argentina is prohibited under the agreement 
with England whereby the English ports were reopened to live animals 
from Argentina, but such importation had not been permitted for two 
or three years before. There is no likelihood that European animals 
will be admitted to Argentina for man}^ } r ears. The supph r of Flemish 
and Holstein breeding stock is very small in the country. There are 
but two or three herds of each worth mentioning and scarcely any 
first-class breeding stock is on the market. The strong interest in the 
dairy industry makes it certain that superior purebred animals of this 
class which, in addition to their well-known milk-producing powers, 
show beef qualities at the same time, will find a quick and very satis- 
factory sale in this market. This applies to Shorthorns as well as to 
Holstein and Flemish cattle. Tiptop young animals may be^relied 
upon if property presented to bring am^where from $800 to $5,000 
gold, and $1,500 would seem to be a safe figure to count on. If the 
animals were of right kind in all particulars they would bring more 
rather than less if offered at the right time. 

One breeder has been trying a cross between Shorthorn and Flemish 
cattle with significant results. Shorthorn and Shorthorn-Flemish 
steers of the same age were prepared for market under precisely the 
same conditions. The Shorthorns averaged 1,218 pounds, while the 
cross-bred steers gave an average of 1,141 pounds. It is claimed for 
this cross that it produces a cow almost as good as the Flemish and a 
steer better than the Flemish and generally as good as the Shorthorn; 
that the cross-bred steer is hardier than the Shorthorn and matures 
equally early. The milk test in the recent show also gives some 
strong evidence favorable to this cross, which now has many advocates 
and is likely to be tried b} r others. 

But those who believe in producing milch cows by a careful selec- 
tion of Shorthorns are probably four times as numerous as the sup- 
porters of all other breeds combined in Argentina, for no claims are 
made for the Hereford in this respect 

TEST OF DAIRY COWS. 

The practical test of dairy cows was one of the most interesting and 
instructive features of the exposition. The competition was among 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate IX. 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate X. 




ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



49 



lots of 5 cows each. The}^ were given the same food and milk morn- 
ing and evening for three days under the inspection of the judges. 
Seven lots of Shorthorns, two of Holsteins, one of Shorthorn-Flemish, 
and one of Polled Angus were entered. Championship prizes were 
offered for the group showing the greatest aggregate quantity of milk, 
quality considered, and for the one showing the greatest percentage of 
butter fat. All the cows were accompanied by their calves and had, of 
course, been carefully selected and prepared for this competition, 
though they had not been allowed to become f at v The result was very 
gratif 3 7 ing to the advocates of the Flemish and the Shorthorn-Flemish 
cross. The fact should not be overlooked, however, that the Flemish 
cows were the result of fifteen or twenty years of careful and intelli- 
gent selection from a large herd of the best original Belgian stock 
and its descendants, while the Holsteins have had only six years of 
selection from a comparatively small herd. 

The Holstein people here feel sure that their breed will furnish a 
better animal for beef and milk combined, alleging that — 

(1) Holsteins are hardier, better adapted to the open life of the 
Argentine camp, to which they are subjected, than either Shorthorns 
or Flemish. Holsteins, they say, do better in the open camp than 
under shelter, requiring the freedom of the open air to produce the 
best results. 

(2) Holsteins are less liable to disease than either Flemish or Short- 
horns. 

(3) The milking qualities of Holsteins of the same care in breeding 
and selection are equal to Flemish, and they generally produce better 
beef animals. 

The official report of the milk tests, on which the awards of both 
championship prizes were made, and others, is as follows, as reduced 
to our weights and measures: 

Record of tests of dairy breeds of cows. 
The produce of 5 cows in each lot for three consecutive days. 



Breed. 


Milk. 


Butter 
fat. 


Butter. 


Flemish 


Quarts. 
357. 12 
300. 63 
359. 86 
255. 72 
236. 70 
184. 65 
278. 96 
226. 39 
194. 15 
165. 37 
149. 51 
210. 80 


Per cent. 
3.175 
3.883 
3.033 
3.075 
3. 701 
3. 658 
3.983 
3. 325 
3.816 
3. 316 
3.083 
3.400 


Po tends. 
25.58 


Shorthorn-Flemish 


26.61 




22.49 


Do 


17.59 


Shorthorns 


19.86 


Do 


18.47 


Do 


18.47 


Do ; 


16.91 


Do 


16.71 


Do 


12. 26 


Do 


10.36 


Polled Angus 


16.18 







3369— No. 48—03 4 



50 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



SACRIFICE OF COWS. 



There is no reliable or complete information as to the number of 
cows being milked or the number not being milked. No live-stock 
census has been attempted since 1895, and the best-informed men in 
the country do not believe there has been much increase in the num- 
ber of animals since that time, if there has been any increase. So 
many losses have been incurred, so many cows have been killed, and 
the younger animals have been drawn upon so heavily for export that 
the natural increase has been kept down. One estimate, crediting 
each cow with 30 kilos, or 66.13 pounds, is that only 137,000 cows 
supplied the export butter trade of 1902. Against this development 
of a small percentage of the cows of the country, to which should be 
added those emplo} T ed in producing butter for home consumption and 
other milk products, which, all told, can not be more than 1,000,000 
and probably fewer, we have some idea of the destruction of cows. 
In 1902, 96,900 cows were slaughtered in the saladeros, or jerked-beef 
factories. This was more than three times as many as were consumed 
there in 1897, when the number was 32,093. In the Buenos Aires 
slaughter yards 84,902 cows were killed for beef in 1901, and in 1902 
the number was 109,890. The same thing is going on all over the 
country. To be sure, the cows slaughtered are the inferior ones, but 
by no means old ones only. It suits the men who are improving their 
stock to get rid of the poorer cows to the best advantage, and that is 
for slaughter. 

" But it is a bad thing for the country to have so many cows killed," 
says Ronaldo Tidblom, director of the bureau of animal industry. 
"The better class of estancieros, those having valuable camps, may 
not find it to their advantage to keep these cows, but they are needed 
outside on lands not so valuable, where an}" cow is better than no cow. 
For the interests of the country at large, we can not afford to have 
so many young cows slaughtered, and measures will be taken to pre- 
vent the killing of cows under 5 or 6 3 T ears old. We would like to 
say 7 years, but that is impracticable, because it is difficult to keep 
account of the age of cows after they have all their teeth. So the 
bes't we can do is to prohibit the killing of cows before they have all 
their teeth and are known to be 5 or 6 years old. Then we hope the 
surplus cows of the inside camps will find their wa\ T outside, where 
tbe} r are needed. This subject will be discussed in congress thi - 
winter and something 1 will be done." 



STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY, 



The dairy industry is not yet sufficiently organized to permit one to 
say what it costs to produce a pound of butter, or what the average 
yield of milk per cow is, or what cows are worth. These things 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 51 

can only be approximated. It is safe to say that the average estancia 
cow does not average much more than 5 or perhaps 5-J- quarts per day, 
and that this milk will not test on the average through the year more 
than 2.8 to 3 per cent butter fat; in many cases it will be more, and 
in the fall — in April and May — the percentage of butter fat will rise 
considerably. Some herds will average 3 per cent or a trine more, 
but 3 per cent the } r ear around is considered good. As to yield in 
quantity, many cows will not give more than 1 or 4£ quarts per day, 
while others will give much more. The following estimate is given 
by the Rural Society in its annual report, the information having been 
furnished by La Union Argentina: 

To produce a pound of butter, 10 English quarts (equal to 12 United States quarts) 
or about 25 pounds of milk are required. The cows in our dairies and estancias, a 
cross of Shorthorn and criolla (the native half- wild stock) will yield about 5 J quarts 
per day, remaining in milk for about 210 days. It must be remembered that in all 
dairy herds there are always about 30 per cent of the cows that can not be milked 
for one reason or another. 

The average cost of a dairy cow and calf is about $30 (United States) ; if the yield 
is greater than the average of 5§ quarts, the cost is proportionately higher, as it is 
considered that each additional quart of milk yield represents an additional value of 
about $5 gold; so a cow giving 9 quarts is worth from $45 to $50, and if it gives from 
13 to 15 quarts, $65 to $75. About 90 per cent of our dairy cows are graded Short- 
horns. Three cows with their calves require about two squares (8-J acres) of land. 
Rent of land is about $1.50 gold per acre per year. Care and milking in each dairy 
(120 to 150 cows) requires three experienced men. The wages of these men would 
be a little over $15 gold per month, with board and lodging, which represents about 
$8 gold in addition. The price paid for milk by the creameries is about 1| cents 
gold per quart. 

The prices here given for cows are rarely realized except for the 
very best class of graded Shorthorns — known to have good blood. 
The average cow sells for half or less than half the amount quoted. 
The rental price for land is low except for land far out in the outside 
camps. 

At present the business is confined to the northern two-thirds of the 
province of Buenos Aires, southern and eastern Cordoba, and most 
of Santa Fe and Entre Bios, except the northern parts, where it is too 
hot. The development of dairying is not only increasing with great 
rapidity in that territory, but is going beyond it, especially to the 
south and Avest, so it seems safe to count on seeing several million more 
cows being milked in two or three years and a consequent enormous 
increase in the exportation of butter from Argentina. 

In the dry times and in the spring when the grass is watery the tests 
for butter fat run very low. One of the oldest and best herds of beef 
Shorthorns has had cows giving at these times as low as 1.7 to 1.8 per 
cent. Beliable creamery tests through the year gave this herd but 
2.31 per cent butter fat on about 300 cows — a very low average. In 
the same vicinity another herd, consisting of Shorthorns, grade Short- 



52 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

horns, and a slight strain of Jersey in some animals, averaged 3.22 
per cent of butter fat, which is above the general average for that 
section of the country. A herd of Jerseys belonging to the cream- 
ery, of which 250 are always being milked, gives 4.36 per cent of 
butter fat. All these tests cover a period of twenty -two months, four 
composite tests being made each month. The locality was Carcarana, 
province of Santa Fe, near Rosario, and the period included a very 
serious drought, during which the cows suffered much. Some of them 
were fed a little dry alfalfa during the worst time. The creamery 
herd of Jerse} r s is fed nothing but a handful of chopped alfalfa and 
bran at milking time to keep them quiet. During this period of 
twenty-two months the Jerseys on alfalfa averaged 6i liters daily, 
though this is far from a fair indication of what they do there, because 
of the drought and short pasturage. Man} r individuals in this herd 
give 20 liters a day when in full flow and test 6 per cent butter fat — 
sometimes as high as 6.8 per cent. The Jersey calves are taken from 
their mothers as soon as they are born, and most of the bulls are sold 
as soon as possible for veal. Though they are very well bred, and in 
the United States would be valuable for breeding animals, there is no 
demand for them there. The Jerse} 7 is a very unpopular breed in 
Argentina because it gives so little beef, and, though occasionally a 
rich estanciero or breeder has a few Jerseys for his own family use, 
the}^ are regarded as an expensive luxury. The Carcarana people 
raised a few steers from their Jerseys for their own use and found the 
beef good, though the animals were small. 

CHEESE BUSINESS NOT SATISFACTORY. 

The Carcarana creameiy is managed b}" an American and is one of 
the oldest in the country, having until recently a very profitable, almost 
monopolistic, business in cheese. The Carcarana cheese is famous all 
over the country. The factoiy was started many 3'ears ago by a citi- 
zen of the United States, who died about two years ago. At first it 
was a butter factory, but the cheese business, once the conditions 
peculiar to the countiy were mastered, was very profitable until others 
began to follow them into the industry, which resulted in overstocking 
the limited Argentine market with various sorts of cheese. The over- 
production reduced the price one-third; now it is only about 80 cents 
paper per kilo, or about 16 cents gold per pound. They tried to 
export, but lost money in the South African market. 

The Carcarcana cheese is a rich full-cream cheese of excellent qual- 
ity, but, like all other cheese made in Argentina, its sale is and will 
for some time be limited. The cheese industry in the country is more 
or less in this condition generally and is not very prosperous; there- 
fore attention is turned chiefly to butter. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



53 



EXPERIMENTS IN COMPARISON OF BREEDS. 



An experiment recently made on the Granja Blanca estancia, near 
Las Heras, 60 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, gives a reliable 
record and comparison of four lots of cows — two of Shorthorns, one 
of Flemish, and one of Holsteins — covering- an entire year. The fol- 
lowing table gives the result in United States quarts: 

Milk yield and percentage of butter fat in cows of different breeds. 



Year and month. 



1901. 
July 

August 

September. . 

October 

November. . 
December . . 



1902. 



January . 
February 
March . . . 

April 

May 

June 



Total . . . 
Average 



Herd No. 1, 170 
Shorthorns. 



Herd No. 2, 170 
Flemish. 



Herd No. 3, 130 
Holsteins. 



Herd No. 4, 170 
Shorthorns. 



Quarts. 



18, 927 
22, 173 
20, 302 
22, 847 
30, 411 
33, 955 



34, 574 
34, 942 
28, 916 
26, 397 
19, 047 
17, 662 



310, 153 



Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 



3.7 
3.7 
3.4 
2.9 
3.1 



3.4 
3.5 
3.8 
4.3 
4.3 
3.8 



3.6 



Quarts. 



17, 964 
13, 758 
19, 243 
22, 736 
30, 594 
31, 669 

31, 173 
30, 181 
30, 560 
30, 266 
27, 419 
25, 382 



310, 945 



Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 



3.2 

3.3 
2.6 
2.6 
2.4 
2.6 



2.9 
2.7 
3.2 
3.2 
3.3 
3.1 



Quarts. 



10, 908 
17, 769 
14, 122 
17, 030 
15, 202 
21, 633 



24, 917 
22, 620 
20, 365 
13, 743 
13, 093 
12, 336 



2.9 



203, 738 



Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 



3.0 
3.4 
3.4 
2.6 
2.7 
2.7 



3.1 
3.0 
3.3 
3.6 
3.6 
3.5 



Quarts. 



17, 355 
19, 368 
17, 966 
20, 483 
32, 536 
42, 479 



48, 376 
42, 226 
33, 815 
27, 063 
17, 689 
13, 959 



333, 315 



3.2 



Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 



3.1 
3.3 
3.0 
2.9 
2.8 
2.8 



3.1 
3.1 
3.4 
3.6 
3.7 
3.1 



3.2 



Condensed statement. 



Breed. 


Total production. 


Production per cow. 


Average 


Per year. 


Per day. 


Per year. 


Per day. 


fat. 


No. 1, 170 Shorthorns 


Quarts. 
310, 152 
310, 945 
203, 737 
333, 316 


Quarts. 

850 
852 
558 
913 


Quarts. 
1,824 
1, 828 
1,567 
1,960 


Quarts. 
5 
5 
4 
5 


Per cent. 
3.5 


No. 2, 170 Flemish 


2.9 


No. 3, 130 Holsteins 


3.2 


No. 4, 170 Shorthorns 


3.2 







The Shorthorns have been going through a process of selection for 
eleven } T ears, especially herd No. 1, showing a little better results than 
herd No. 4. The Flemish cows were bought only two years before 
and were not selected animals; man} T were only heifers, so the com- 
parison is hardly fair to them. The Holsteins have been on the place 
six years and included practically the entire herd of this breed, both 
inferior and superior. The Gerber test was used to determine the 
percentage of butter fat in the milk. These averages are considered 
very good, running through the year, of cows kept all the time in the 



54 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

open camp. Another test near Buenos Aires, of which careful record 
was kept every day for ten years, for each individual cow in a herd of 
200 grade Shorthorns, nearly pure, shows a steady average of 3 to 3.5 
per cent of butter fat through the } T ear. These cows were in the open 
camp, on natural grasses, with perhaps a little dry alfalfa in the winter. 

HOW COWS ARE FED. 

The cows in the Gran j a Blanca experiment were given no dry feed, 
except occasionally a little dry alfalfa, when the pasture was dry in the 
winter; but this is done onty b}^ a small minority of estancieros. Most 
cattle — and, indeed, these cows most of the time — live and fatten and the 
cows give rich milk the year around on the native grasses and nothing 
more. They do not have so much alfalfa in this part of the country 
as in others, as it does not do well. Alfalfa in this section lasts only 
seven }^ears at best, and if cattle are put on it, onl} r two } T ears, as a 
rule. But the native grasses are very rich and, in ordinary times, 
furnish abundant feed through the year. There are winter grasses 
and summer grasses, succeeding each other, so that there is always 
fresh grass; and, unless a drought occurs, there is never need of giving 
dry feed, even to fatten steers. The estimate put upon the carrying 
capacit} T of the native grasses in this district is 2 cattle per square 
(4.17 acres) the }^ear around, or 1 per square for fattening. In the 
spring and summer the camps will carry more, especial^ the so-called 
refined camps, that have been in use for some 3 T ears with cattle and 
not overstocked, so the better grasses predominate. But if pastures 
are stocked to the limit in the summer they will not be in condition to 
carry the cattle in the winter. 

Not only the wild native grasses, but several of the tame grasses and 
forage plants well known in Europe, which it is declared have never 
been artificial!}" planted here, are to be found in these refined" camps. 

Among them are white clover, rye grass, and timothy, all of which 
I have seen growing on Buenos Aires estancias, where people insist 
that it has never been planted. There are several others of these 
grasses that appear and flourish at different times in the year. 

The thistles of Argentina were once considered one of the most valu- 
able cattle foods, and in all the camps that are without alfalfa they are 
yet highly valued, and often come in very opportunely when other 
pastos, or grasses, are not at their best, especially in winter. In 
fact, it was with serious hesitation that estancieros began to destroy 
the thistles in order to put in alfalfa. The pioneers in alfalfa began 
more than twenty years ago, and among the earliest and most promi- 
nent of them were the Benitz Brothers, from California, on their 
estancia u La California," about 70 miles northwest from Rosario. the 
second city and produce market of Argentina. They were the first to 
have a league of land in alfalfa. When they began they were warned 



a A refined camp is a portion of the country better developed than others. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 55 

by the natives of the f olh r of plowing" up the thistles, and were assured 
that they would suffer for it, but their success has proved that they 
were right. 

But the usefulness of the thistle is not entirely past. The three 
principal varieties that mark the "refinement" of the camp are cardo 
negro, or black thistle, the first to appear; cardo de castilla, or Span- 
ish thistle, which follows in two or three years; and cardo asnal, or 
coarse thistle, the last to appear, after the camp has been in process 
of "refinement" for several years. The last is the best for cattle and 
is considered a valuable forage plant in some sections where there is no 
alfalfa. It is green in the winter, even in dry times, and the cattle 
like it. 

CARRYING CAPACITY OF PASTURES. 

The carrying capacity of an Argentine camp varies so widely from 
the rich alfalfares, or alfalfa pastures, and inside natural camps 
to the more or less barren outside camps that it is impossible to 
say what the country at large will do. Director Tidblom makes an 
estimate of 1 bovine animal to 6 acres and 1 sheep to 1 acre. This 
applies to the distant pampas, where the grasses are not so rich and 
the water is scarce, but it does not apply to the sections in which cat- 
tle are fattened, or where the} r will be fattened for a good many years. 
Regions like that will produce stock cattle to be fattened on richer 
pasturage, nearer market. In the province of Cordoba, for instance, 
the natural grass, or pasto f uerte, as it is called, will cany about 800 
animals per league, or 1 to 8 acres, but they do not get fat by any 
means. On the same land put into alfalfa 3,000 head of cattle are 
kept fat the year around. The land is divided ^nto several poteros, 
or pastures, and the cattle are moved about from one to another of 
these. There are plenty of places in the country where the same con- 
ditions prevail, and they are fast being made over into alfalfares. 
Many landowners are gradually working their land into alfalfa by 
colonizing it and thus earning enough from wheat or llax in the first 
two or three }^ears to pay all the expense of putting it into alfalfa, 
which the owners could not afford to do at once, and this system gives 
them a profit besides. On the other hand, many estancieros in the 
south and middle of the province of Buenos Aires are finding it so 
profitable to raise wheat that they are renting their land to colonists 
for wheat or are putting it in themselves, rather than use it for stock. 
In other parts of the same province they say that 1 to 1\ animals per 
square (4.17 acres) is the capacity of the native grasses. In the same 
place the estimate of the alfalfares is 3 animals per square for six to 
seven months out of the year, as in winter there is not much alfalfa to 
be had. In the province of Santa Fe the native camps vary widely, 
but in the southern part, which is best, the native grasses can be relied 
on in good seasons for about 1 to li animals per square; but when the 



56 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

dry cold season comes on, the cattle do not do well on this feed. 
Alfalfa in the same district will fatten 3 to 5 head per square in five 
to eight months, depending on the condition of the cattle when they 
reach the place, and the nature of the season — whether the alfalfa is 
in prime condition or needing rain. In the province of Buenos Aires, 
where they have alfalfa, it usually does not endure feeding well, 
except in certain exceptional parts. The native grasses are more 
relied upon, as they are much better there than in the upper provinces. 
In Cordoba and Santa Fe they are forced to put in alfalfa, as otherwise 
the camps would not be stocked, except with inferior criolla, or native, 
cattle. 

"As a general rule, in the majority of cases, little or no provision is 
made b}^ estancieros against the usual annual dry season in the winter 
or for extreme droughts, and the cattle suffer accordingly. Of course, 
there are many exceptions to this improvidence, notably in the older 
and more valuable inside camps, and the success attained by the men 
who have taken the better care of their stock during the cold and dry 
seasons have done much to teach the necessity and profit of prepar- 
ing to give stock dry feed during times of drought, and to finish steers 
on grain. Cheap, frozen, grass-fed beef will, of course, continue to 
be sold in England, but for export alive and for chilled beef of the 
best qualit}^, alfalfa or the native grasses alone will not produce ani- 
mals that will command high prices. 

ADVICE OF AN ARGENTINE PACKER. 

Mr. Daniel Kingsland, manager of the new chilled-meat works in 
La Plata, near Buenos Aires, has just issued a circular to estancieros 
giving them advice as to the best kind of animals to meet the demands 
of the chilled-meat trade. His suggestions have added importance 
from the fact that he is an old resident of the country, a producer of 
beef animals himself, and knows the conditions and possibilities of the 
country well. In his circular he saj^s: 

With regard to cattle, the export of beef in a refrigerated or chilled state to the 
United Kingdom is now an accomplished fact, but is still in its infancy, and places 
this country in the position of being the principal competitor of the United States of 
North America, which has hitherto enjoyed the whole of this trade. To compete 
with them successfully, it is our opinion that great care should be taken to produce 
bullocks which will always be worth more for this purpose and command a higher 
price than for any other. For chilling, it is not necessary to send extremely heavy- 
weight cattle. Bullocks of two and a half to three years old, well finished, and 
weighing from 550 to 620 kilos, or an average weight of 580 kilos (1,213 to 1,367 
pounds, or an average of 1,278 pounds), will command the best prices. To produce 
this article from the average well-bred mestizo (graded animal), now plentiful, it 
does not matter whether the cross is Durham, Polled Angus, Hereford, Red Lincoln, 
or any other meat-producing strain, so long as the animals are always well fed and 
looked after in the winter season, when grass is scarce, or any other time when there 
should be a shortage of feed, never allowing the animals to become poor. This can 
be done by always growing a certain amount of alfalfa, corn, or other foods for winter 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate XI. 




Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate XII. 



o 

o 



I 




mBv 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



57 



feeding. By doing this estancieros will have no difficulty in producing the animals 
required all the year around, and the results will be satisfactory to themselves. 
The trouble and expense of cultivating a small proportion of their land in order to 
provide food for the winter and fattening stock in bad seasons will be well repaid. 

Concerning the production of lambs for export, Mr. Kingsland says: 

The production of lambs for export shows the greatest room for improvement, and 
should give good results to those who undertake to produce the suitable article. 
This can be done by introducing meat-producing strains of sheep into your flocks, 
such as Hampshire, Southdown, Oxford, Shropshire, and also Border Leicester rams, 
and, for the low camps, Romney Marsh rams. Then by winter feeding the ewes, 
enabling them always to have plenty of milk for their lambs, they would fatten 
at from five to seven months old to average 30 kilos (66 pounds) live weight, and 
would be worth 10s., or even more. Lambs intended for export should never be 
shorn, as it throws them back, and the wool obtained barely covers the cost of 
shearing. By producing lambs and selling them at this age, you are turning your 
capital every year, and therefore doubling your producing powers. The following 
facts will show you how far we are behind New Zealand, which country is our chief 
competitor in the frozen-sheep industry: The total number of sheep of all classes in 
New Zealand last year was about 20,000,000, and it exported nearly 4,000,000 of 
frozen sheep and lambs. At the same time we had 100,000,000 sheep in this country 
and our export was only 3,500,000. These figures speak for themselves, and should 
be an object lesson as to the possibilities in the production and early maturing of fat 
lambs; and it has also had the effect of increasing the value of, and extending the 
demand for, land suitable for the production of lambs to a very great extent, "We 
would strongly advise estancieros to lay themselves out to prepare a certain number 
of lambs for export every year. The results must be of the most satisfactory nature 
to them and will increase the value of the flocks and camps all around. 



LIVE STOCK CENSUS. 

No one knows how many cattle there are in Argentina. Authorities 
disagree in their estimates, but it is now quite generally admitted that 
the estimates that have been given during the past two or three years 
are too high. The last regular live-stock census, taken in 1895, com- 
pared with the previous one, taken in 1888, is as follows: 

Live-stock census of Argentina, 1888 and 1895. 



Kind of animals. 


1888. 


1895. 


Kind of animals. 


1888. 


1895. 


CATTLE. 

Criolloa (native) 

Mestizos (graded) 

Purebreds 


Number, 

17, 574, 572 

3, 388, 801 

37, 858 


Number. 
14,197,159 

4,678,348 

72,216 

f 1 . 800. 799 


SHEEP. 

Criollos (native) 


Number. 

21, 322, 214 

42, 002, 871 

381,012 


Number. 
17, 938, 061 
56, 106, 187 
335, 314 


Mestizos (graded) 

Purebreds 




Total 




Milch cows . 


66, 706, 097 






I 960,126 J 

j 1 953,004 


71, 379, 562 




Total live stock: 

Cattle 




21,961,657 

4, 234, 032 

66, 706, 097 




Total 


21,961,657 21,701,526 


21, 701, 526 


HORSES. 


1,013,379 i 
2,926,687 } 4 ' 016 ' 297 
259,009 414,985 
4,957 15,577 


Horses 


4, 446, 859 
74, 379, 562 




Sheep 




Pigs 


393,758 652,766 


Mestizos (graded) 

Thoroughbreds 


Asses and mules 

Goats 


417,494 j 483,369 
1,894,386 v> 748 KfiO 








Total 


4,234,032 4 44fi 8SQ 








' ' 







58 



BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



Statistics just published b} r the bureau of statistics of the department 
of agriculture, covering about three-fourths of the countiy, show that 
where in 1895 there were 16,256,363 cattle, there are now only 
15,446,852, a decrease of 5 per cent. The correctness of these figures 
has been challenged, and the bureau of animal industry is arranging 
to take a census that will be more reliable. Still, it is well known that 
there is a much less number of cattle in some parts of the country, nota- 
bly in the southwest and in the north. Droughts, overstocking, garra- 
pata ticks, foot-and-mouth disease, and anthrax have carried off many 
thousands. Cows have been sacrificed, thus interfering with the natural 
increase, until the Government is planning, as previously explained, 
to take steps to stop it. Younger animals are being sent to market 
also. The most conservative estimates do not place the total number 
of cattle in the country at more than 24,000,000, though it must be 
admitted that it is most difficult to arrive at a safe estimate or to find 
a sure basis to figure on. 

Estimates on the number of sheep, based on the amount of the clip, 
on known conditions, careful reports from the sheep sections, and inti- 
mate knowledge of the business, vary from 80,000,000 to 115,000,000. 
It is probably fair to conclude that the real number is a little below an 
average between these two figures. 

EXPORTATION OF LIVE STOCK. 



During January, February, March, and April, when the English 

ports were open to Argentine live stock, the number of animals 

exported was: 

» 
Exports of live stock from Argentina, January to April, 1903. 





Cattle. 


Sheep. 


Horses. 


Mules. 


Asses. 


January and February (chiefly to England, South 
Africa, Brazil, and Spain ) a 


11,926 


48. 663 


1,234 


7,388 


5. 597 






March: 

To England . . 


10, 319 

959 
264 


29, 203 

12,880 

3 


34 

150 
27 






To South Africa 


71 


20 


To other countries b 










Total 


11,542 


42, 086 


211 ; 


74 


20 


April 


12, 877 


44. 105 


529 


997 


30 







"English ports open to Argentine live stock February 3 and closed May 9, 1903. 
''The actual totals for March from revised returns were: Cattle, 13.594: sheep. 47.931. horses. 626: 
mules, 89; asses, 30. Destinations are not given. 

The average weight of the steers exported is given at 1,462 pounds. 

Considerable complaint has been made by the exporters of live stock 
about the delays and expense of the inspection, disinfection, and fit- 
tings required by the Government for the exportation of live stock. 
But no doubt these will be overcome in time. The Government 
appears determined to use all possible precautions to prevent diseased 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 59 

animals from being exported and to provide that the animals shall 
have such care on the voyage as that they shall arrive at their desti- 
nation in good condition. 

The results were not what had been expected, for various reasons. 
A great majority of the cattle that did not do well on the voyage were 
wild, untamed brutes. They were bruised and frightened in the rail- 
way cars coming to Buenos Aires. Arriving there, they were unac- 
customed to such close quarters, did not know how to eat dry food, 
and, being hustled about and lifted on board in great cages high in the 
air, they were still more frightened. On board they knew still less 
how to adjust themselves to their new surroundings, failed to eat, 
were probably not so well cared for as they might have been, and some 
very heavy losses resulted. One ship was out twenty daj T s longer 
than expected, and the animals had little to eat. Several lost from 20 
to 30 per cent of the animals on board, and those that got through 
were in bad condition. The sales ran from £12 to £23 ($58.32 to 
f>111.78 U. S.) in the English markets. Several cargoes were sold at 
£12 to £16 ($58.32 to $77.76 U. S.), which meant heavy losses. The 
animals cost in Argentina from £8 to £11 ($10.88 to 153.46 U. S.), 
generally about £10 ($48.60 U. S.). The ocean freight was from £3 
10s. to £4 10s. ($16.91 to $21.87 U. S.), the former being the lowest 
rate at the time the ports were closed (May 9). The rates for sheep 
were 6s. a head. Then there w T as the cost of feed and care besides, so 
that £18 ($87.48 U. S.) was the lowest price that gave a profit. Rates 
to South Africa were £4 ($19.44 U. S.) for cattle and 6s. ($1.44 U. S.) 
for sheep. To Para, Brazil, where a small but regular tiade in cattle 
has been worked up, the rate is £4 10s. ($21.87 U. S.) per head. The 
ships used in the trade are not specially adapted to the business. There 
was lack of proper ventilation, the fittings were not always what they 
should have been, and, in fact, the business was just being learned and 
better ships were being offered when the foot-and-mouth outbreak put 
a stop to it for a time. 

But the chief lesson learned by Argentines in their latest experi- 
ment with cattle exportation was that they must abandon their hopes 
of getting prices equal to those obtained for the prime corn-fed steers 
from the United States unless they also feed their animals grain to 
finish them for market. They also learned that a wild animal will not 
come off the range, take a railway journey, and go on shipboard and 
travel four weeks unless he has been prepared for it by taming and 
feeding before he leaves the estancia. So we ma} T expect to see the 
Argentine estancieros begin within a year or two to put grain-fed 
steers on the market, but not in large numbers. 

HEALTH OF LIVE STOCK. 

Aside from the anthrax, which is still very bad in the province of 
Entre Rios and in certain parts of the province of Buenos Aires, and 



60 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

the garrapata, or Texas fever ticks, which infest the northern prov- 
inces, the health of the cattle is good. The foot-and-mouth disease, 
referred to elsewhere, is regarded as a very small affair that will soon 
be ended so far as the better part of the country is concerned. 
The past season and the present one have been favorable to the 
health of cattle, except in a few places, where they have suffered 
from severe droughts. The Government is making a brave effort to 
confine the ticks to the warmer sections, where they are thickest, and 
to prohibit cattle from coming south beyond a certain point. 

For many years cattle have been brought down from the Chaco and 
other parts of northern Argentina to be fattened on the rich camps of 
the provinces of southern Santa Fe, Cordoba, Entre Rios, and north- 
ern Buenos Aires. It has been a very good business, for the pro- 
ducers of stock cattle on these cheap northern camps could afford to 
sell their stock at very low prices. The cattle were immune from the 
fever, though carrying plenty of ticks. In this way some of the best 
stock regions were infested with ticks. But those who brought these 
cattle down, paying $15 or $20 for 2-year-olds, keeping them on grass 
for a year or so, and selling them at prices ranging from $35 to $60, 
strongly objected to having this business interfered with. The ques- 
tion was discussed for several years before the Government finalh T 
established a line and required the cattle crossing it coming south 
to be dipped. It was made compulsory to use a certain dip, 
and that was another source of controversv, the claim being made 
that other dips were equally good. But the Government authori- 
ties insist that their dip is the only one that will actually kill the 
ticks, while other dips simply cause them to drop off the animals. 
The establishment of this line affected the saladeros, or jerked-beef 
factories, the shipment of fat steers to Buenos Aires, and the bring- 
ing of steers down from the north to fatten. In the province of Entre 
Rios, where the saladeros are located, the movement of live stock fur- 
nished a large part of the provincial revenues, and its partial curtail- 
ment inflicted hardship on the provincial government. It is generally 
claimed that the official dipping stations are wholly inadequate. The 
animals are submerged one at a time in a cage let into the bath by a 
sort of derrick. It is impossible to dip more than 200 or 250 per day 
of these wild animals. All sorts of objections were and are still being 
raised. Besides, mairy stockmen regard the whole thing as nonsense 
and claim that the ticks do not cany the Texas fever. Several post- 
ponements of the taking effect of the decree were made, but it finally 
went into operation on April 1, 1903. During that month it was sus- 
pended, so far as Entre Rios was concerned, until July 31, under an 
agreement with the provincial government that it would cooperate 
with the Federal Government at the end of that time in putting it into 
full force. The provincial government is to erect enough dipping 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 61 

stations to accommodate the demands. The Minister of Agriculture 
has just refused to further extend the time when dipping- will be 
required. 

THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 

During the first six months of the year 1902, and in the latter part 
of 1901, the sheep business in Argentina was very discouraging and the 
Argentines, always quick to take up a promising new thing and just 
as quick to run from it when they strike a bad season, began to sell their 
sheep for nearly nothing. Sheep could be bought by thousands for 
$1.50 to $2 and many were sold for $1 paper, or from 15 to 90 cents 
gold each. Various causes contributed to this, but the low prices of 
wool and mutton were the chief ones. The British ports were closed 
to live sheep and the freezing companies paid what they pleased for 
fat wethers and lambs — usually from $1 to $6 paper, rarely more than 
$5.50. The best wools were selling at 15 to 20 per cent less than now. 
The home demand for mutton was not sufficient to make a price better 
than $2 to $1 in Buenos Aires. The coarse Lincoln wools especially 
were not in demand and were being shipped in great quantities to the 
United States for carpet manufacture. Now the markets are better 
for both wool and mutton and a change is coming over the Argentine 
flocks. This was one of the most striking features of the great annual 
show, and it points to conditions that offer to the sheep breeders of the 
United States an opportunity to make some sales of Rambouillet and 
Merino rams. Of the 1,718 sheep exhibited and offered for sale, 955 
were Lincolns, but they did not, as heretofore, bring the highest prices 
or command the most interest. The Down breeds, the Rambouillets, 
and the Merinos were more sought after, in proportion to their num- 
bers, and their numbers were greater than in any previous show. It 
will be noticed that the Lincolns stood third in the average price of 
sale, closely pressed by the Oxford Downs. The prices were not so 
high as in 1901, when the champion Rambouillet ram sold for $7,300, 
and this year it sold for only $2,000. But the highest priced Lincoln 
was only $1,600. In a later sale in Januaiy a group of 1 Lincolns sold 
for an average of $1,750, the highest price being $2,300. 

In this sale (January 21, 22, and 23) 383 rams, mostly shearlings, 
from 16 to 28 months old, were sold with the following results: 

Average price. 

267 Lincoln rams, purebred $206. 53 

75 Lincoln, grades '.... 46. 13 

41 Black-faced purebred rams „ ,,.., 121. 27 



62 



BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Highest and loivest prices of principal breeders. 



Breed. 



Lincolns. 



Hampshires . . . 
Oxford Downs. 
Shropshires 



Owner. 



Puchuri & Co 

Mendiberri 

Espartillar 

Cec. Lopez 

Manuel Jose Cobo 
B. Gimenez Paz .. 
Hector F. Casares. 
Leonardo Pereyra 



"3" ««•»*■ 



4 
5 
20 
7 
4 



82, 300 
770 
1,200 
600 
500 
480 
200 
320 
160 



Lowest. 



Average. 



$1,300 
340 
170 
150 
320 
170 
100 
200 
100 



$1,750 
474 
292 
391 
380 
243 



With the exception of the Puchuri and Mendiberri lots, these were 
the second picking of the flocks, the best having been sent to the 
Palermo show the previous September. These two breeders did not 
exhibit at Palermo. With these exceptions the animals were, on the 
whole, inferior to those shown at Palermo, especially the Downs. 
The following is from the manager of the largest live-stock auction 
house, whose opportunities for studying the needs of Argentine breed- 
ers are unsurpassed: 

In my opinion this year's tendency has been toward the Black-faced sheep, the 
Downs, a tendency which is likely to grow until the breed impresses itself upon the 
country over the Lincolns and Rambouillets, just as in former years the Lincolns 
imposed themselves against the Merino types. The reasons for this are early matu- 
rity, hardy constitution, quality of meat, and equal price for wool. These are the 
same conditions which in other times secured superiority for the Lincolns, a superi- 
ority which has commenced to vanish on account of the excess of production. I 
attribute this evolution of breeds less to a distinct superiority of any of them than to 
the influence — the inexorable law — oi supply and demand upon production. Ex- 
perience in breeding, combined with a clear insight into the special requirements 
of camp and climate for each of the improved breeds, will bring forward the good 
qualities they all possess. 

The objection of the exporters to the big Lincoln, both on the hoof 
and as frozen mutton, has had a great influence upon the breeding of 
a better mutton, one that gives a smaller, firmer, leaner meat. The 
overproduction of the coarse Lincoln wool was the other strong influ- 
ence, although this season there has been some improvement in the 
price of Lincoln cross wool. The opinion is quite general in the coun- 
try that the breeding of Lincolns has gone too far, and that a better 
mutton and a finer wool must be produced. So the Downs, the Black- 
faces, are being sought for, especially the Oxford Downs, and also 
the Shropshires. The demand for Rambouillets is still strong. As it 
is now forbidden to bring rams or any other live stock from Germany 
or an}^ other part of the Continent of Europe, and as the Merino types 
are again being sought after, it is plain that this is the time for our 
breeders to send their best animals to this country, just as they did 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 63 

many years ago, when the first Merinos were brought to Argentina 
from Vermont. 

Several hundred Lincoln rams have already been imported from 
England, and are being, or have been, sold at auction. The prices were 
very good, one lot of 20 rams and 10 lambs averaging $908 each for 
the rams and $302 for the lambs. Another lot of 6 averaged $1,175; 
one sold for $3,000. Ten ram lambs averaged $237. Another lot of 4 
averaged $314. Among the arrivals from England were 54 Shropshire 
rams and 62 Shropshire ewes; also 15 Hampshire Down rams, upon 
order. This breed is quite extensively used in Argentina. 

The Shropshires brought only about $250 paper each at the first 
sale, and a second sale only $100 to $160. The demand was quickly 
supplied. 

The freezing works pay a higher price per pound of dressed meat 
for the smaller, finer mutton sheep than for the coarse, large Lincolns, 
because the latter meet with objections in the English market, where 
for several }^ears they have sold for a lower price than the smaller 
carcasses. One of the largest frozen-meat concerns in the country 
grades its lambs and muttons into the following five classes: No. 1, 34 
to 39 pounds; No. 2, 40 to 48 pounds; No. 3, 49 to 56 pounds; No. 4, 
57 to 64 pounds; No. 5, 65 to 72 pounds. 

The 50 to 56 pound carcasses are preferred, so the sheep that will 
dress nearest to that weight and furnish a good qualit} r of mutton is 
the one that commands the highest price. The opening of the English 
ports is, of course, emphasizing this preference for the smaller mutton 
sheep, creating a much larger demand for the wethers. This will 
encourage the breeders of the Downs, the Merino types, the sheep of 
smaller, finer carcasses and finer but lesser weight of wool. Still, the 
improvement in prices of Lincoln and Lincoln cross wools this year 
has encouraged the Lincoln breeders, already so greatly in the 
majority; and Lincoln rams are still in strong demand, as shown by 
the successful sales of those recently imported from England. 

The sheep market in the suburbs of Buenos Aires is a great national 
institution, under private management and well directed. Here most 
of the sheep in the Republic are sold, although man}^ are sold on the 
estancia, much the same as cattle — that is, the better class of export 
lambs and muttons. Prices vary greatly, according to the qualit}^ and 
weight of the animals, the amount of wool they carry, the demands of 
the market at the time of purchase, the distance from Buenos Aires, 
etc. All sheep are bought by the head, as are cattle. 

The price of the export type of mutton sheep has been going up for 
several months, more noticeably since the opening of the English 
ports to Argentine live sheep. The top price now is $12 per head for 
the best export wethers. The daily prices in the Buenos Aires mar- 



64 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

ket range from $6 to $12 for fairly good animals, though many are 
sold for loss. They are inferior animals, however. All the really good 
ones bring from $8.50 to $11.50. These prices are about double those 
of a year ago. The higher prices are for the product of well-known 
estancias, in large numbers, where the animals are more uniform and 
of exceptional quality. The prices vaiy from 11 to 16 cents paper per 
kilogram live weight, the aA^erage at this time being about 15 cents. 
This is equivalent to a range of $2.18 to $3.20, or an average of $2.97 
gold per 100 pounds. The distinction made by the f rigorificos is that 
the}' pay more for the small sheep of fine mutton than would be war- 
ranted if size only was the consideration, as compared with the price 
paid for the big Lincolns. The latter, however, give a greater quan- 
tity of wool, and, though the mutton price in England is lower, there 
are more pounds to sell, so the man who raises it can afford to take a 
lower price per pound. For these reasons, although the Lincoln will 
stand less hardship than the smaller breeds, his champions in Argentina 
are not deserting him altogether. 

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SHEEP-BREEDING INDUSTRY IN ARGENTINA. 

There is no better authority on sheep breeding in Argentina than 
Mr. Herbert Gibson, vice-president of the National Rural Society. 
His father before him was a sheep-breeder there also, and his interests 
are chiefly concerned with sheep, as importer of purebred rams, 
breeder of breeding stock for this country, producer and purchaser of 
wool, and producer of mutton. A few } T ears ago he published a book, 
u The History of the Sheep-breeding Industry in the Argentine 
Republic," and it is considered an authority to-day. except as subse- 
quent developments have changed the conditions in the country. Mr. 
Gibson was most active and prominent in the introduction of the 
heav} r , long-wooled Lincolns into the country twenty years ago, and 
urged the crossing of the Lincoln on the smaller Merino breeds for the 
double purpose of producing the greatest quantity of wool and mutton. 

For these reasons importance must be attached to the recent publi- 
cation of an article in the Anales de la Sociedad Rural Argentina, 
the official organ of the Argentine Rural Society, by Mr. Gibson, in 
which he distincth r modifies his views regarding the Lincoln breed. 
The fact that this article, written b} T the best-known writer on the 
sheep industry and one of the foremost advocates of the Lincoln, ap- 
peared in the chief agricultural and pastoral publication in the country, 
is the best evidence to be had of the great change that is now taking- 
place in the sheep industry of Argentina. The article will be found 
to be of the deepest interest by all who in any way deal in mutton 
or wool, for it is based on long and thorough study and experience 
and is the verdict of a man completely convinced against his will, who 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate XIII. 




Fig. 1 .—First-prize Yearling Lincoln Sheep. Sold for $1,350. 




Fig. 2 —First-prize Hampshire Down Ram. 



Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate XIV. 




j 






r 

















Bulletin No. 48, B. A. I. 



Plate XV. 




ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 65 

gives the reasons that have changed his opinions. The following is a 
translation of the article in its entirety: 

The notable presence of the Down type in the recent exposition of the Rural 
Si »ciety shows a significant fact. The sheep industry of this country is about to enter 
upon a new evolution. The supremacy of the Lincoln race belongs to the history of 
the past. But it will" not resign its empire without preserving the feudal titles which 
belong to it by right and tradition. Hence it is to be concluded that the Lincoln 
breeder who writes this, on welcoming his competitors, is not disposed in any way 
to quit the field. 

After sixteen years of continuous demand for wool and carcasses of the Lincoln 
cross — every time less cross and more Lincoln — we find ourselves to-day with the 
British ports closed, « the coarse wool despised, and our market limited to the 
demand— not very encouraging — of three freezing establishments. The time has 
therefore arrived to balance accounts with the sheep industry, and I now make 
some observations which this state of things will have suggested, without doubt, to 
more than one breeder. 

First. The production of crossed wool, fine and middling, diminishes in my flocks. 
Every time there is more coarse wool. The more I try to mark my flock with the 
seal of the Lincoln the greater is the amount of wool "de padres" that my consignee 
rejects. What I mean is that the producer and consumer are going in opposite direc- 
tions. When I think that my labor will be rewarded and exhibit a Lincoln flock 
typical and uniform, my consignee rewards me by sending my wool to make carpets 
in North America. 

Second. It seems that it is not enough that my wool is valued in an order inverse 
to the refinement of my flock. The meat market acknowledges still less the merit 
of so many sacrifices. Even before the closing of the British ports the exporter 
talked to me about the mutton of the Lincoln type as being too pronounced, too large,, 
too heavy. As soon as the demand was limited only to the market of the freezing 
establishments the diminution of value of the Lincoln mutton was more accentuated 
than ever. After twenty years of laborious progress 1 have seemingly achieved the 
result of producing a mutton whose only destiny is the grease tank. 

Third. To these tribulations there is another to be added — that of the worm. It 
is noticeable that when you have succeeded in establishing a remarkable Lincoln- 
type in the flock, that is the time this worm causes the greatest damage. There is a 
predisposition on the part of the yearling lambs to fall victims to Ovine pasteurolosis 
and to succumb to its effects. The spring brood experiences more and more every 
year a notable decrease during the dry and hot months of the following fall. 
Our afflicted shepherd will surely not find a ready and easy solution of the problem 
which confronts him; and if some of the causes that have contributed to this painful 
situation are marked out, it depends on the ability of each individual to apply them 
to his own case and to determine which modifications ought to be introduced. 

The good prices obtained during the last decade for the wool and mutton of Lin- 
coln cross have induced us to overstock our ranges with sheep. This was a great 
mistake. It is not enough that during certain periods of the year sheep are fat if at 
other times they are insufficiently fed. This overstocking has brought What the 
English call "dirty pasture," and consequently the scale of mortality increases. 

The true Lincoln type has experienced a modification in this country, owing to 
the demand for size. Its fleece has lost the uniformity which characterized it 
twenty years ago. Its form has been exaggerated. The purity of the type has been 
somewhat sacrificed in order to obtain a large quantity of meat and volume of wool. 

« November, 1902. 
3369— No. 48-03 5 



66 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

Vigor and vitality — qualities necessary to transmit in their purity to the breed — have 
been sacrificed in this way. 

A ram born and bred in the stable, artificially fed from its birth and forced to a 
precocious development, can not transmit to its descendants the qualities of robust- 
ness necessary to our system of sheep breeding. The English breeds do not owe 
their good reputation to measures taken against nature, nor have their typical quali- 
ties been produced in this way, and the practice in our breeding establishments, 
whose only object is a great development, is too artificial. It is true we ought not 
to neglect the breeding animals destined for the exposition, and we ought to feed 
them with the best fodder, keep their fleece in the best condition, and put into 
practice every legitimate art to present them in the most perfect way before the 
public. But it seems only reasonable, nevertheless, to allow them at least to breathe 
the pure air of the field and not the heavy atmosphere of a half-closed and half-dark 
stable, to oblige them to walk and to graze, and lastly to always keep in mind in 
preparing them that the breeder produces w r ool and meat in God's pastures and not 
in a factory lighted with electric light. 

Passing over the causes why the Lincoln breed has not given all the results desired 
by its advocates, we come to another condition of our national flocks, to wit, their 
tendency toward unification. No one will deny the beneficial results of crossing the 
half-breed weak Merino with the robust Lincoln, to whose blood we are indebted 
for the improvement of form, the firm and healthy basis, and the rugged constitu- 
tion which contribute to strengthen our sheep in the struggle . against the open-air 
life and the climatic, topographic, and economical conditions of our system of sheep 
breeding. But the law of compensation is applied to stock breeding as well as to 
other industries. We ought not to seek either the one or the other extreme, but a 
medium. The demand of the market does not justify the production of an exag- 
gerated specialty, because in order to obtain this specialty it is necessary to sacrifice 
certain qualities for the benefit of others, and sooner or later defects appear. In this 
fespect the Lincoln breed has, or, to speak more correctly, had grown too popular. 

The stock-breeding economy, as well as all others, is an unending history of 
ingrafting. The law of nature marks the step, always modifying, always molding, 
always surprising us with her evolutions, always reminding us while we painfully 
advance through the way of progress that man lives by the sweat of his brow and 
putting in our way obstacles which subdue our pride at the very moment when we 
thought we had reached the summit of our ideal. But, as she is also a good mother, 
she relieves our affliction by showing another way, until then unknown to us, by 
which she allows us to progress again, to advance, and to hope. 

To ingraft, or, using breeding terms, to cross the typical features of the breeds that 
are crossed is a prime consideration. It is well known that consanguinity marks its 
procreation with all the characteristic conditions of the progenitors, be they good or 
bad, and that consanguinity has been the means employed by the breeder to repro- 
duce the type he wished to perpetuate. In the crossing of the breeds, the greater 
the typical purity of the progenitor the greater is the perfection reached in the off- 
spring. We start, then, if we intend to cross again, from a basis surer than the one 
of twenty veers ago. The coarsenesss of the mixed Lincoln flocks of the country 
shows a condition more rational, more typical than the mixed Merino flocks showed 
then. We rely on the existence of a stock of rams of the Rambouillet, Lincoln, and 
Down breeds that will supply the demand for sires of excellent pedigrees. The 
national sheepfold is well equipped. There are elements to modify, in a satisfactory 
way, the existing sheep. 

But outside the modest ability of the breeder who writes these lines, it surpasses 
the limits of an article to explain in detail the process through which our national 
flocks will approach more nearly to a profitable medium and to the balance of pro- 
duction, which is so evidently lacking. In the first place, we ought to realize better 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 67 

the limitations to which we are subjected by the climatic and topographic conditions 
of the regions in which we raise our sheep. It is probable that the sheep breeder 
situated among the tender natural pastures of the South, in the climate of frequent 
and copious rains and damp atmosphere, whose flock of accentuated Lincoln type 
does not increase in the value of wool and meat, would find it advantageous to do 
what in Xew Zealand has given such satisfactory results, viz, to cross his Lincoln 
with Romney Marsh. The Kentish sheep contributes to impart smoothness, thick- 
ness, and to a certain extent fineness to the fleece of coarse Lincoln, while the meat 
of this crossing is in good demand, and a greater constitutional robustness is notice- 
able in the offspring. 

The breeder with alfalfa pastures will never be a great sheep breeder. His role is 
in the cattle business. The development of the sheep industry on the alfalfa stock 
farms is incompatible with the production of fine wool, of whatever breed, either 
Merino, or Lincoln, or any other. The problem for the man with alfalfa has but 
a single economic side — to produce the best and greatest quantity of meat and to find 
out the type which will best answer this question only. 

While the freezing establishments and the exporters of live sheep do not reward 
quality, paying for an animal of the Down cross a price greater than that paid for an 
animal of Lincoln cross, it is to be expected that the breeder will always prefer the 
animal of greater weight. But there are reasons for thinking that this will not 
always be so and that the Down breeds, crossed on the flocks of Lincoln origin, are 
destined to modify the general type of the flocks in the alfalfa regions. 

In the outlying ranges of the Southwest — the zone of scanty rain and dry atmos- 
phere, separated by long distances and expensive freights from the meat markets — ■ 
the production of fine w r ool approximating to the Merino should be the first purpose 
of the breeder. The long wool of the English white-faces does not prosper there. 
The conditions of the climate favor the Merino breed. With the opening of a nearer 
meat market, with the improvement of the virgin range, and the planting of artificial 
pastures the meat production of that zone might become a more important factor 
than it is to-day. In this case the breeder will experience another process of evolu- 
tion, seeking from among the meat breeds whose fleece is the most like the Merino — 
perhaps the Shropshire — a new cros.s which will make his flock a source of greater 
profit in the production of mixed products. 

The Argentine breeder needs an increasing number of establishments in which the 
typical breeds of his specialty are produced. The pure, crossed, or mixed sire will 
disappear in time, to be replaced by the genuinely, genealogically, typically pure 
sire. The sheep breeder is called upon to produce, at a moderate price, for the 
wholesale sheep raiser a flock ram for the general flock, of a type and condition 
distinctly generic, who will not only give sons, but s Dns like himself. This will pro- 
mote the union of the national flock, whose production will improve the more it 
approaches the medium of the distinctive qualities of each breed. But no breed, no 
crossing, will permanently contribute to the improvement of the flock if the breeder 
is not first imbued with the principles of economy. Before finding fault with the 
Rambouillet, or the Lincoln, or the Down, it will be well to think about the eco- 
nomic system of the farm. In our eagerness to produce much, and of the best, 
we have exacted more from the soil than the soil could give. The pastures have 
been overcharged with sheep; the richness of the soil has been exhausted, and the 
epidemics of worms and other like tribulations. that persecute us are but the silent 
protest of nature, whose fertility has been prostituted. 

A good friend of the Argentine Republic, the late John Xash, of good memory, 
importer of purebred animals, and one of the pioneer stockmen in the alfalfa region 
of the province of Santa Fe, used to say that half of the crossing of breeds in stock 
enters through the mouth. We are not yet ready to dispense with these rustic 
aphorisms of the old world. If we want to obtain better incomes, better fleeces, 



68 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

bolter carcasses, we must not forgot that the most classic ram in existence was not a 
beauty of Divine origin, but that lie had once, in a period more or less remote, ances- 
tors as vulgar, as inferior, as common as a bull of the wild herds from the Falkland 
Islands. There is no royal road to the perfection of cattle or sheep. We follow a 
path obstructed at every step by disappointments and unexpected obstacles. The 
improvement of the domestic breeds is a slow process which never reaches comple- 
tion. We need not only intelligence and theory, but a continuous, indefatigable 
method adapted to the country — throwing now and then a glance toward the past — 
if we want to be able to say Ave progress. 

ARGENTINE RESOURCES SHOWN BY EXPORTS. 

The importance of Argentina as a food producer for other parts of 
the world across the sea is yearly coming to be better understood, as 
she sends more wheat, more corn, more beef, more mutton, and more 
butter nearly every year than the one before. And the Argentines and 
those from other lands who have been attracted to Argentina by the 
richness of the country and its boundless possibilities are getting a 
better understanding of their opportunities and how to make the best 
use of them. For the most part, however, the native Argentine, the 
descendant of the older families, prefers to confine his efforts to stock 
raising, agriculture, and politics, leaving the development of trade, 
of industries, and most commercial pursuits to foreigners. Naturally, 
the foreigners' profits in developing Argentine resources have been 
large. The freezing companies that send frozen beef and mutton to 
England, South Africa, and other markets have been earning 40 
per cent dividends. There is a large margin in the butter business. 
Fortunes have been made in grain. But these conditions are not 
always to prevail, and, indeed, are changing already. There is a new 
generation in which there is much new blood, and these young men 
are ambitious to do more than raise stock and get into the provincial 
or national legislative bodies or hold some other official post. 

Last year the Argentine energy in hunting markets was shown by 
the manner in which they went after the South African market. The 
Argentine department of agriculture rented a big transport from the 
navy department and sent several experimental cargoes to South 
Africa. They took mules, steers, horses, butter, alfalfa, wheat, oats, 
sheep, and many other things in small parcels on the owners' private 
account. It was all sold to good advantage, and convinced both ship- 
owners and producers that the market was worth working for. Now 
there are three regular shipping lines, with frequent sailings, and a 
good trade has sprung up. Some of the trade has not turned out so 
well as was hoped, but the experimental cargoes, sent at the lowest 
possible cost to shippers, have built up a trade that would not have 
been developed otherwise, and which is worth many thousands of 
dollars every month to the Argentine producers of food products, 
alfalfa, etc. 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 69 

The British ports were closed to Argentine live stock during all the 
year 1902, and also in 1901, owing to the foot-and-mouth disease 
which was so severe in the year 1900. This had been the chief market 
for Argentine steers, wethers, and lambs. Notwithstanding this, the 
exports of live animals during 1902 amounted to $5,617,696 gold, an 
increase of $2,532,941 over 1901. Of this increase, $1,033,800 was for 
mules, most of which went to South Africa. That was only a tem- 
porary business, for the trade is now back to its normal condition. 
In 1899 Argentina exported 312,150 steers, nearly all to England. 
Last year she sent 118,303 to various places, and this was nearly all 
new business, worked up in the last two years. It was 886 fewer than 
were exported in 1901, but the prices realized amounted to $868,073 
more in 1902. These cattle went to Spain, Portugal, South Africa, 
and Brazil. They were not equal to the best type of export steer 
that Argentina sent to England this .year, but the business made better 
prices for a fair type of steer. 

With the British ports open to the steers and sheep of Argentina, 
it is the ambition of every producer of steers and mutton sheep to 
raise animals that are fit to meet the demands of the export market. 
If he has rather bad luck at first in trying to compete with the United 
States, it only drives him to the improvement of his product to meet 
the conditions of the market in which the best prices prevail. That 
he will do this there is not the least doubt, for he has all the facilities 
for doing it. With cheap land, cheap labor, and a climate so favora- 
ble for the production of corn and other feed, and so kind to stock 
that they need no shelter the year around and are almost sure of abun- 
dant green feed during every month in the year, it will probably not 
be long before as good steers will be produced there as can be pro- 
duced anywhere. 

Gains are shown in the exports in nearly all important lines except 
wheat, flour, and wool. This year the corn crop will be almost double 
that of last year, and all the estimates of exports double the amount 
of last year, or nearl}* so. The wheat crop also will be very much 
heavier, probabty double, as the crop of 1 902 was far below the aver- 
age. Wool exports this } T ear are, up to the 1st of May, less than the 
same period last year, but the prices are much better. The year, in 
short, ii a most prosperous one for the Republic. Crops generally 
have been good and prices are satisfactory. So are the prices for 
cattle and sheep, and the demand is putting the prices up a little more 
every week for good fat wethers, till now they are worth $12 paper 
for the best. ' 

The Argentine Government collected $3,210,307 gold in export dues 
in 1902, of which all but $29,850 was on animal products. The follow- 
ing export products are taxed 4 per cent on their gold valuation as 
fixed by the current market prices: Wool, all kinds of hides and skins, 



70 



BUBEAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



horns, horsehair, tallow, animal and fish oil, bone ash, hide clippings, 
bones, hoofs, ostrich plumes. Old iron pays 5 per cent, and all other 
products are free. 



PRINCIPAL EXPORTS FOR FIVE YEARS. 



The following' table shows the principal exports of animals and ani- 
mal products from Argentina for the past live years. (Where tons are 
given metric tons of 2,201 pounds are understood.) 

Exportation of principal products during the last five years. 



Animals and animal products. 



Steers number. . 

Wethers do 

Horses do 

Mules ,..do 

Frozen beef tons. . 

Frozen mutton do 

Unwashed sheepskins do 

Salted cowhides do — 

Dry cowhides ,do 

Salted horsehides do 

Dry horsehides do 

Wool clo. . . 

Jerked beef (tasajo) do — 

Various frozen meats do 

Canned beef do 

Tallow do. . . 

Butter pounds. . 



1898. 



1899. 



359, 296 

577, 813 

14, 360 

10, 205 

5, 867 

59,834 

42, 245 

29, 370 

23, 174 

160/. 3 3 

180, 827 

221, 280 

22, 242 

971 

1, 023 

29, 341 

2, 042, 562 



312, 150 

543, 458 

7, 259 

7,740 

9,079 

56, 627 

41, 697 

28, 528 

23, 956 

131,774 

130, 057 

237,111 

19, 164 

922 

1,816 

24, 150 

2, 600, 317 



1900. 



150. 150 

198,102 

32, 969 

13,179 

24, 590 

56, 412 

37,593 

26, 423 

24, 866 

121, 2S5 

190,241 

101, 113 

16, 449 

1,089 

1.405 

24. s37 

2, 327, 506 



1^ 01. 



1902. 



119, 189 

25, 746 
9,761 

20, 468 
44, 904 
63, 013 
41,120 
28, 158 

26, 647 
136, 901 
181, 027 
228, 358 

24. 296 

1,410 

947 

33, 368 

3, 329. 338 



118, 303 

122, 501 

16, 008 

54,928 

70, 018 

80, 073 

41, 405 

35, 343 

26, 558 

135, 685 

282, 138 

197,936 

22, 304 

2, 520 

1,644 

49, 195 

9, 093, 975 



EXPORTS IX DETAIL. 



The animal exports of the Argentine Republic for the calendar year 
1902, in quantity and value, compared with the previous year, ended 
December 31, 1901, are given herewith. All measurements have been 
reduced to those of the United States except tons, where the metric 
measurement has been left unchanged. The valuations are in Argen- 
tine gold, the dollar of which is worth 96.5 cents United States money. 

Exports of animals and animal products during calendar year 1902 compared with 1901. 



Quantities. 



Animals and animal products. 



Number or 
quantity 
in 1902. 



Asses number. . j 14, 223 

Cattle : do. . . . : 118, 303 

Goats do ... . 2 

Horses do 16, 008 

Mules '. do. ... ' 54, 928 

Sheep do. . . . 122, 501 

Hogs do 532 



More ( + ) 

or less( — ) 

than in 

1901. 



+ 5, 430 

- 886 
1 

+ 6. 247 

+ 34,460 

-i- 96. 755 

+ 282 



Values. 



Value in 
1902. 



More ( + ) 
or les> 
than in 
1901. 



$284, 460 


+ S108.6C0 


2.848,445 


+ 868. UTS 


10 




460. 035 


- 227. 560 


1, 647. 840 


-1. OSS. 800 


36S, 656 


- 290. 40S 


8,250 


+ 4, 500 



ANIMAL INDUSTRY OF ARGENTINA. 



71 



Exports of animals and animal products during calendar year 1903 compared with 1901— 

Continued. 



Quantities. 



Values. 



Animals and animal products. 



Number or *fi£f + \ 
quantity 



Horns tons. . 

Frozen beef do — 

Frozen mutton do — 

Horse hair do — 

Sheepskins do — 

Salted cowhides do — 

Dry cowhides do — 

Wool do.... 

Jerked meat (tasajo)» do — 

Various frozen meats do — 

Salted horsehides number. 

Dry horsehides do. . . 

Goatskins pounds. 

Kid skins do. . . 

Pickled tongues do. . . 

Salted tongues do . . . 

Pressed tallow do. . . 

Canned beef . . . . tons. 

Butter do . . . 

Rendered fat and tallow do. . . 

Sole leather number. 

Tanned cowhides do... 

Tanned sheepskins dozen. 

Other tanned skins 

Extract of beef pounds. 

Cheese do. . . 

Casein .' , do... 

Animal oil do... 

Concentrated.soup do . . . 

Bone ash tons. 

Clippings of hides do... 

Guano do.. . 

Bones do . . . 

Hoofs do... 

Dried blood do . . . 

Salted tripe, sausage-casings, etc do. . . 

Dried tripe, sausage casings, etc pounds. 

Burned bones do... 

Grease scraps do. . . 

Ostrich feathers do. . . 

Eggs dozens. 

Bristles pounds. 

Chicken feathers do. . . 



in 1902. 

2,475 

70,018 

80, 073 

2, 651 

41,405 

35, 343 

26, 558 

197, 936 

22, 304 

2, 520 

135,685 

282, 138 

3, 025, 185 

1,075,494 

1,221,093 

23, 289 

113,903 

1,644 

4, 125 

49, 095 

16, 633 

134 

140, 914 



than in 
1901. 



+ 671 
+ 25,114 
+ 17,C60 
+ 88 

+ 285 
+ 7, 185 

- 89 

- 30,422 

- 1,992 
+ 1,110 

- 1,216 
+101,111 
+116,050 
-- 43,318 
-274,887 

- 3, 600 
+ 101,467 
+ 697 
+ 2, 615 
+ 15,727 
+ 14,662 

- 286 
+ 140,914 



653,329 I 

14,374 ' 

207, 395 

381, 859 

86, 480 

13, 769 

1,803 

1,455 

35, 059 

1,093 

925 

2, 189 

286, 353 



2, 388, 356 

103, 804 

4, 79S 

23,713 

29, 112 



+ 175, 3S2 
+ 11,400 
+207, 395 
+ 54,436 
- 32,692 



9, 332 
430 
639 

7, 557 
344 



+ 282 
+106, 751 
-> 50,000 
-127,082 
- 28.792 
+ 4, 798 
+ 23,713 
+ 6. 845 



Value in 
1902. 



8197,688 

7,001,833 

6, 405, 804 

1,064,646 

8, 487, 078 

0,384,955 

8, 822, 302 

45. 810, 749 

2,647,450 

163, 820 

406, 794 

460, 906 

823, 328 

292, 704 

166,164 

1,690 

3,617 

*164.401 

1, 277, 969 

6,209,038 

83, 165 

268 

563, 656 

417 

592, 696 

1,304 

21, 839 

20, 412 

11,769 

94, 865 

41, 637 

36, 385 

341,732 

13, 660 

46, 271 

109, 457 

5,196 



54, 166 

86, 122 

480 

430 

660 



More ( + ) 

or less (— ) 

than in 

1901. 



+ §12,660 
+2,511,386 
+1,364,781 
+ 59, 969 
+ 1,147,266 
+ 1,103,199 

- 26, 136 
+ 1,144,266 

- 232, 005 
72, 172 
15, 9C8 

167, 501 
31,583 
11,790 

- 37, 409 

- 262 
+ 3, 222 
+ 69,687 
+ 1,100,424 
+2, 306, 323 
+ 73, 215 

572 
563, 656 
205, 221 
159, 106 
1,034 
21, 839 
5,182 
2,448 
69, 226 
2,167 
14, 374 
24, 019 
4, 303 
3,849 
14, 101 
1,937 
5,000 
2,883 
35, 000 
480 
430 
140 



+ 



+ 



+ 



DISTRIBUTION OF EXPOETS. 



The following table shows the distribution of the principal Argen- 
tine exports in 1902, as reported b} T the national statistical bureau. 
Giving only certain countries, the destination of a large part of certain 
articles is lost sight of. This is noticeable in the shipments of horses, 



72 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

cattle, and sheep, most of which went to South Africa. Many ships 
sail from Argentine ports bound for St. Vincent "for orders," and 
they do not know until they reach that port where the}' will be ordered 
to take their cargo. The shipper has the two or three weeks that the 
ship requires to make the voyage to this point to determine where he 
will sell the cargo. Hence the Argentine port records never show 
where these cargoes were sold, but they are all for European or English 
ports. 

Exports of animals and animal products, 1902, and their destination. 



Country of import. 



Belgium 

Brazil 

France 

Germany 

Italy 

Spain 

United Kingdom . . 

United States 

Uruguay 

Other destinations. 
For orders 



Total. 



Cattle. 



Number. 



28, 923 
103 



1,124 



47, 884 

39, 328 

941 



118, 303 



Horses. 



Number. 

44 

1,205 

191 

59 

4 

141 

383 



1,625 
12, 352 

4 



Sheep. 



Number. 



3, 550 
500 



1,452 



335 

116, 480 

184 



16,008 , 122,501 



Horse- 
hides. 



Frozen 
beef. 



Number. 

700 

100 

1,000 

313, 707 

19 

849 

100 

47, 915 

5,601 

47, 832 



Metric 
tons. 



417, 823 



54,402 



15, 616 



70, 018 



Frozen 
mutton. 



Metric 
tons. 



70, 371 



9,699 



80. 073 



Jerked 

beef Wool, 
(tasajo).' 



Metric 

tons. 

239 

13, 841 

191 

12 

3 

68 

451 

366 

2,355 

4,778 



Metric 
tons. 

22, 342 

5 

86, 007 

49, 750 

1,905 

11,216 

12, 420 

151 

13,687 

453 



22, 304 197, 936 



Country of import. I Bones. 



Belgium 

Brazil 

France 

Germany 

Italy 

Spain 

United Kingdom . . 

United States 

Uruguay 

Other destinations . 
For orders 



Total. 



Metric 
tons. 

1,474 



956 
3,388 
1,426 

121 

3,304 

14, 009 

983 
5,305 
4,093 



35,059 



Salted 
cow- 
hides. 



Metric 
tons. 

5, 249 



2,127 

13, 308 

167 

316 

2,850 

4,086 

1,725 

4,552 

963 



Dry cow- 
hides. 



Metric 
tons. 

697 
4 

450 
1, 021 
2,523 
2,915 

227 

11, 990 

2,945 

3,786 



35, 343 



26, 558 



Sheep- 
skins. 



Metric 
tons. 

1,003 

54 

23, 829 

2,299 

2,693 
16 

3,962 

20 

519 

7,010 



41, 405 



Kid and 
goat skins. 



Pounds. 
40, 683 



1,426,050 



3,527 
20, 192 

1,043 
1, 374, 436 

3,005 
1,231,743 



4, 100, 679 



Ostrich Horse- Tflllnw 
feathers, hair. 



Pounds. 

18, 743 

441 

33, 766 

1,429 

908 

8,331 



Metric 
tons. 

643 



24, 339 

2,498 

13, 349 



103, 804 



51 
167 
429 



424 
397 
452 



Metric 
tons. 

1,285 

2,067 

3,709 

1. 828 
6,024 
4,961 

26, 140 
254 
189 

2, 638 



2.651 49,095 



.BFe '07 



O 







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